Chennai To Host FIBA Level I Coaching Certification Course

Chennai, 14^th March 2014: BFI, in association with FIBA will be organizing the fourth leg of the FIBA Level I Coaching Certification Course in Chennai at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium from 14^th-20^th March 2014 after an overwhelming response from local and outstation Basketball Coaches for the first three. After Mumbai and Delhi the third leg of the FIBA Level I Coaching Certification Course to enrich the knowledge of Indian coaches on teaching the fundamentals of basketball to the youth was held in Ranchi from 8^th-14^th March 2014. Each leg of the FIBA Level I Coaching Certification Course had around 40 selected participants.  

This is a basic/beginners coaching certification course, with a focus on learning best practices of teaching fundamentals of the game.  Ideal coaches for the program would be recently or soon to be retired ex-players or young, up-and-coming school/college coaches. The Basketball Federation of India and FIBA are using this programme to encourage more women to take up Basketball Coaching in India.  The Curriculum of the Course will be based on FIBA “Basketball for Young Players” book & CD for U13-U18 (can be found athttp://www.fiba.com/pages/eng/cl/training/p/bb-for-young-players.html).

Chennai will see Nelson Isley, FIBA conducting the FIBA Coaching Certification - Level 1 Program and The BFI Coaching Certification Program will be conducted by Indian Women’s National Basketball Team Head Coach Francisco Garcia

FIBA Coaching Instructor Nelson Isley said “I am happy to be back in india. The response of the coaches has been great. They have shown  lot of interest and are willing to learning new basketball coaching techniques. FIBA and BFI are currently in discussion to jointly hold more Level I Coaching Certification Course in India in the near future. ”

Owing to its strategic, long-term, exclusive partnership with IMG Reliance forged in 2010, BFI in recent years has successfully attracted elite international coaching talent, including from NBA and NCAA Division I in the United States, to develop a strong foundation for Indian basketball development. In 2011 IMG Reliance spearheaded the hiring of former NBA Head Coach Kenny Natt, who has coached legends ranging from Karl Malone to LeBron James, and Pete Gaudet, who has coached at the highest level of both Men’s and Women’s US college basketball. Current Indian Senior National Team Head Coaches Scott Flemming (Men’s) and Francisco Garcia (Women’s) have since built on that foundation, including leading the Indian Women’s team to its best ever finish at the FIBA Asia Championships this year. IMG Reliance’s partnership with the BFI was also instrumental in establishing a strength & conditioning coaching program for all Indian National Basketball Teams, including the establishment of a world-class training facility in Delhi, and the development of a training book, “Strength & Conditioning: The Complete BFI Program for Training Basketball Players to Run Faster, Jump Higher and Perform Better”, which consists of a scientifically-based programme specifically tailored to basketball players and India. 

Profiles of the Instructors

Francisco Garcia – Indian Senior Women’s National Basketball Team Head Coach

Francisco Garcia has coaching experience of over 23 years spread across Spain, Denmark and Finland. Little over six months in India Coach Francisco has been instrumental in taking the Indian Senior Women’s National Basketball Team to a Historic 5^th  place finish in the 25^th FIBA Asia Championship (Thailand) 2013 and a Bronze medal at the Lusofonia Games 2014. Along with mentoring the Indian Junior Women’s National Basketball teams he has also conducted clinics for Coaches across India.

Prior to joining BFI, he had been involved in various women’s professional programs in Spain, Denmark, and Finland. Since returning to Spain in 2005, Coach Garcia coached various Spanish Federation Youth National Development Camps, in addition to acting as a private development coach for a number of Spain’s senior national women’s players, including Amaya Valdermoro, 3 time WNBA Champion.

Nelson Isley, FIBA Coaching Instructor

Nelson Isley is the Coaching Instructor for FIBA and has been associated with them since 2000. He is a highly experienced and accomplished FIBA certified Coaching Instructor with a B.S. in History and Physical Education from Louisiana State University. He has over 4 decades of coaching experience and conducting national development programs. Mr. Isley has taught FIBA coaching clinics in Iceland, Mozambique, Swaziland, Nicaragua, Guatamala, Haiti, Spain, Chile, Bolivia, England, Zimbabwe, El Salvador, Tanzania, Ethiopia, Jamaica, Maldives, Canada among other countries. He was also appointed by FIBA to scout and prepare the final technical report on the 2012 FIBA U17 World Championship for Women held in Amsterdam, The Netherlands.