The Girls Basketball BC Academy Program is comprised of the Girls Junior Academy Program (JRA) and Girls Senior Academy Program (SRA).  The Academy Programs are part of Canada Basketball's Targeted Athlete Strategy program (TAS).  

Athletes are required to try out for the Girls Academy Program, but some athletes may receive a direct invitation to the program based on prior identification or evaluation through provincial and national team participation.

Academy Curriculum

The Girls Academy programming focuses on developing: Skilled, Focused, Strong, Dynamic, Decisive, Prepared and Competitive Athletes.

These are the attributes that define an elite basketball athlete.

Program Pillars are dedicated to improving athlete knowledge and performance in the following areas:

Basketball Skills – Emphasizing:
Global Basketball Skills                      Decision Making                     Dynamic Play

Physical Development – Focusing On:
Strength                     Agility             Quickness                   Nutrition

Mental/Social/ Emotional Skills – Stressing:
Mental Skills               Preparedness             Teamwork         Leadership        Life skills

Individual Athlete training is based on both a program Yearly Training Plan (YTP) and an Individual Performance Plan (IPP). Athletes have an assigned Academy coach that monitors and assesses the athlete’s development through these plans.

Integrated Support Team (IST) is an integral part of the overall Academy programs providing athlete support and key knowledge with regards to off court training.

Our IST consists of:
Program Trainer     Program Analyst     Nutritionist     Mental Trainer     Physiotherapist     Chiropractor

These areas have been highlighted by Basketball Canada as essential in the overall development of the athlete. All Athletes receive a training program that will be helpful in targeting those areas.

“Basketball B.C.’s TAS program provides exceptional training and support services in all aspects of an athlete’s development including basketball, physical, mental, and social/emotional.
Their technical and coaching staff, and sport science and sport medicine staff, are world class and use training practices which are fully aligned and integrated with our Canadian women’s high performance program so that NextGen athletes from British Columbia who are tracking along the Podium Pathway are well prepared for the rigors of being a high performance athlete in women’s basketball.”
Denise Dignard
Canada Basketball Director of Women’s High Performance

 

“The integration and alignment between Canada Basketball and Basketball BC has been key in allowing players from BC to perform at their highest when representing Canada on the international stage. It has also allowed more players to make these teams. Basketball BC’s TAS program mirrors what is being done with Canada Basketball’s age group programming (cadet and junior teams).
They have an integrated support team (IST) that includes strength and conditioning, prehab and rehab, mental training, and nutrition. In the basketball pillar the alignment of the coaching staff to the terminology, skill, concepts, decision making and individual performance plans (IPP’s) of Canada Basketball makes it a player centred model. Basketball BC and Canada Basketball are committed to developing players and NCCP trained coaches who are transformational rather than transactional.”
Mike MacKay
Canada Basketball Performance Manager, Women's High Performance

Mike Mackay returns to Girls Junior and Senior Academy this fall

Shaun McGuinness Manager of Girls High Performance is excited to announce that Mike MacKay, Performance Director for Canada Basketball Women High Performance will be returning to our Academy program this fall. Mike will be leading sessions for both the Girls Junior Academy and Senior Academy on the first weekend of training Sept 14 and 15.

Last year we had an opportunity to benefit and train from Mike’s coaching, as he and Victor Lapena, Senior Womens Head coach visited us last fall. Mike continues to familiarize himself with BC talent as he was present at recent U15 and U17 Nationals in St Johns where he was identifying, evaluating and assessing players for future Cadette and Junior teams.

Both Junior and Senior Academy are part of our provincial and national team pathway.  Remember to register if you haven’t yet.

new program for 2024 - CANCELLED

Futures Academy (FTA)

The Futures Academy (FTA) is an introduction into High Performance training for girls currently in grade 6 and 7 in fall 2024 (born in 2012 and 2013)  This Academy program is designed for athletes who are currently training and participating in basketball and have acquired some skills and are looking for further development - it is not an introduction camp to basketball training

The program is based on FIBA points of emphasis and concepts of play with a designed structure and format in developing a multi-skilled player and provides an introduction to High Performance training.  The program promotes the development of basketball skills by introducing athletes to Canada Basketball's terms of reference, drills, and systems to assist them in becoming familiar with the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) style of play

The program also serves for early identification for future participation in the Basketball BC 2025 Fall Junior Academy Program and 2026 BC Summer Games teams.  It also provides early identification of future Canada Basketball Cadet National age players

 

2024 FTA PROGRAM COACHES

Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: Anthony Luyken
Assistant Coaches: TBA
Program Trainer: TBA

 

2024-25 FTA PROGRAM SCHEDULE

Junior Academy (JRA)

The Junior Academy Program (JRA) is a part of Canada Basketball’s Targeted Athlete Strategy (TAS). One of the primary objectives of the TAS program is to guide the development of athletes in the youth age group category.  

The JRA program, when combined with Basketball BC 2025 spring/summer zone and Team BC programs, provides a comprehensive yearly training and competition schedule for player development. JRA athletes are able to showcase their skills and abilities at both provincial and national championships through participating in zone teams at the U13 and U14 level for BC Summer Games and by selection to U15 Team BC.

The JRA program serves as the entry point into Basketball BC’s and Canada Basketball's High Performance Athlete Development Pathway. Through high-performance coaching and programming, our goal is to provide grade 8 and 9 students (born in 2010 - 2012) with an opportunity to train and develop in a high-performance environment.

Over the course of six weekend training sessions, athletes will be centralized in a competitive training environment where they can best develop their on-court skills. The program is designed to help develop the foundation skills needed for provincial and national team programs along with future post-secondary play. Athletes will also be introduced to our off-court sessions which focus on physical training and social/emotional/mental development.

Athletes will work with targeted National Coaching Certificate Program (NCCP) trained and certified coaches that are fluent with teaching International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and Canada Basketball concepts and style of play.

The JRA program is meant to continue to fill gaps in the athlete’s developmental pathway between the Learn-to-Train and Train-to-Train stages of the Long-Term Athlete Development (LTAD) model in order to guide players towards becoming “Global Players.” This process stresses the importance of athletes training to be successful on-the-court in addition to gaining the knowledge base necessary to develop in the 4 pillars of play: Skills, Physical, Mental and Socio-Emotional

The goal of the Basketball BC JRA is for athletes to not only comprehend and apply valuable skills, but also to synthesize these techniques and evaluate how the lessons-learned fit into authentic game-like situations.

 

2024 JRA PROGRAM COACHES

Coaching Staff:
Head Coach: Cheryl Jean-Paul
Assistant Coaches: TBA
Program Trainer: TBA

 

2024-25 JRA Girls Roster

2024-25 JRA PROGRAM SCHEDULE - UPDATED September 12, 2024

Senior Academy (SRA)

The Senior Academy Program (SRA) builds on concepts and style of play first introduced in the Junior Academy Program, with an emphasis on developing athletes to play both post-secondary and within our provincial and national team programs. Through specialized high-performance coaching and programming, our goal is to provide grade 10 and 11 athletes (born in 2008 and 2009) with support and development within a designed pathway to best enable them to reach their goals and full potential.

The SRA program, when combined with Basketball BC spring/summer Team BC program, provides a comprehensive yearly training and competition schedule for player development. SRA athletes are able to showcase their skills and abilities at national championships and international competition through participating on U15 or U17 Team BC. 

The SRA program coaching and training staff consists of NCCP trained and certified coaches, certified athletic trainers, and Canada Basketball trained analysts.  SRA coaches work with each athlete to establish a personal training plan that focuses on tactics and skill training.

Support staff includes sport psychologists, who provide mental training techniques to athletes and support physiotherapists, who provide functional movement screening.

Over the course of seven weekend training sessions, athletes will be centralized in a competitive training environment where they can develop their on-court skills. They will also experience high level competition versus local colleges and other provincial academies. Athletes will also experience a series of off-court sessions which focus on physical training and social/emotional/mental development. SRA coaches also work with each athlete to establish a personal training plan that focuses on tactics and skill training.

The SRA program also provides support services in the areas of nutrition, speed & agility, strength training, mental training, movement & functional movement assessment, and injury treatment & prevention for specifically designed for high performance athletes.

Players within this program are recognized by viaSport as a Provincial designated High-Performance Athlete and receive carding and benefits from CSI-Pacific to further support their training and development.

 

2024 SRA Program Coaches

Coaching Staff: 
Head Coach: Shaun McGuinness
Assistance Coaches: TBA
Program Trainer: TBA

 

2024-25 SRA Girls Roster

2024-25 SRA PROGRAM SCHEDULE - UPDATED September 10, 2024

2024 Academy

Tryout Schedule

LOCATION: LEC Fieldhouse (north/south gyms)

DATE BIRTH YEAR TIME
Saturday, September 7, 2024 2008 REVISED
9:00am - 10:30am
2009-10 REVISED
10:30am - noon
2011 1pm - 2:30pm
Sunday, September 8, 2024 2012 noon - 1:30pm
2013
SESSION CANCELLED
1:30pm - 3pm

 

Athlete Selection Email Notification

Athletes selected to the SRA and JRA programs will be notified by via email by Monday, September 10.  We will not be sending an email to the athletes who were not selected.   

The selection notification email will be sent through the Basketball BC registration system using email addresses of athletes and their parents/guardians provided for the Tryout registration.  Basketball BC is not responsible for any contact information errors made during registration. 

Depending on your email filter, the notification email may go to a “junk” folder - make sure your junk folder is not set to auto-delete.  The athlete and parent/guardian are responsible for checking for the email notification.

2024 Program

Fees

ACADEMY TRYOUT:  $25 + GST

PROGRAMS

FUTURES ACADEMY: $800 (GST exempt)
JUNIOR ACADEMY: $950 (GST exempt)
SENIOR ACADEMY: $950 + GST
    

Fees will not be adjusted for partial participation                    

A 2024-25 Basketball BC Athlete Membership is required for participation in a Basketball BC program or event.  A membership fee of $25 + GST will be added to the registration if required.

Questions?

Manager, Girls High Performance - Shaun McGuinness

Registration information

ACADEMY TRYOUT REGISTRATION: REGISTER CLOSED
ACADEMY REGISTRATION DEADLINE: Thursday, September 5, 2024

ACADEMY PROGRAM REGISTRATIONS: ONLINE ONLY BY INVITATION (registration/payment information will be emailed to the selected athletes and their parents)
ACADEMY PROGRAM REGISTRATION DEADLINES: See invitation email

PLEASE REGISTER BEFORE THE DEADLINE AS REGISTRATIONS WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED AT THE DOOR
In accordance with Basketball BC policy, all participants must be preregistered (for the correct tryout/clinic/program) to attend each specific Basketball BC tryout/clinic/program.  

PLEASE SELECT THE CORRECT REGISTRATION
A registration list for each specific tryout/clinic/program will be used to confirm the participants.  Only those individuals on each specific registration list will be allowed to participate.  Basketball BC is not responsible for any user errors which may result in an individual being excluded from participating in the tryout/clinic/program if the individual is not on the registration list.

REGISTRATIONS ARE NOT TRANSFERABLE
If the individual is registered for the wrong tryout/clinic/program, the individual will need to be registered for the correct tryout/clinic/program before the stated registration deadline.  Please send a refund request for the original registration to Basketball BC.  An administration fee will be charged in accordance with our Refund Policy.

EMAIL CONFIRMATION
Upon successful completion of the registration (and payment), an email confirmation will be sent to the Account Holder (Parent if account is for a child).  The email may be sent to a "junk" folder depending on the email filter - please check that the junk folder is not set to "auto delete".  If you do not receive or cannot find the email in the junk folder, contact Basketball BC to confirm that the individual is registered for the tryout/clinic/program.

Registration FAQs

refund policy

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