The month of May represented our final month of training for the 2026 season; where has the time gone!
Following an excellent showing at the Masters Basketball World Cup in Croatia where the team returned with bronze medals, we used this training weekend to work on findings from the tournament. It was clear that all aspects of our defence was very solid however a few small adjustments needed to be made of our offensive game.
After a thorough warm up, we ran lay-up and shooting drills, all with intense defensive pressure to simulate game scenarios. We then worked on player 1 on 1 games again with solid defence, introducing various fakes to free up shooting options.
At our previous training weekend, our “talls” had been given low post move homework and it was extremely pleasing to see the improvements made in just a few weeks. I looked to refine the footwork in a short session to assist with ensuring quick high percentage shots, and this was applied later in game situations with excellent results. Matt worked with the guards on dribble penetration to put pressure on the defence.
Further shooting drills were run in the second half of the session before we returned to refining our offensive plays, putting them in to practise in very well executed games against both man and zone defences. The unselfish play throughout was a joy to see! The first half of Sunday’s training was run in similar fashion to Saturday’s. We welcomed a number of development players to the session who will also be competing in the GB Masters in Cardiff.
In addition to shooting and passing drills, we added ball handling, defence and fast breaking sections to the training plan. Our Captain Ruth and Vice-Captain Michelle then took the GB squad to one end of the court to finalise our baseline and sideline out of bounds plays. Various “special” plays designed to allow us quick scoring opportunities were also worked on. Matt took the development players to the other end of the court to work of offensive and defensive fundamentals.
Scrimmages and full games were run for the final hour and once again, they were played at a very high standard. Pleasing was the number of assists achieved during the games along with the increased awareness of where players will be for open shots when the plays are run. I also feel that the benefits of the team fitness programme that has been implemented by Michelle this year has really paid dividends. Keep up the good work all!
Next weekend, the majority of the squad will be participating in the Dublin Masters. I’m really pleased with the level of the commitment the squad have shown throughout a busy season, and I look forward to seeing how well the team perform at the tournament.
Head Coach, Phil Gander said “this squad has gone from strength to strength and we are first looking forward to Dublin and then on to Athens”.
