The rec and sport site lists SASI netball as entering a SASI team into the local district comp played at ETSA park which is a fantastic innovation and one that some have suggested SASI basketball should have done sometime ago.

> Why would it be fantastic? How would this help the standard of our already lopsided competition? How would players feel about having to leave their community based, club environment where there friends are?

It also reveals a netball structure vastly superior to basketball's scope

> What do these words actually mean? Why is it superior.

and lists current athletes for 2008 unlike SASI basketball which hasn't had an updated listof current athletes for 4 or 5 years.

> I agree. However, is it that bigger deal?


SASI basketball has larger numbers than netball but concentrates on working with and extending only a very small percentage of those associate members and scholarship holders which suggests they have too many inductees and would be better off with much smaller intakes as they appear only interested in the development of this smaller group.

> Larger numbers than Netball? How does it differentiate between the whole group and individual players? All players get the same training when they are on SASI Scholarships...

Netball seems to be leading the way in SA and we'd do well take notice.

> Do you actually have any concrete ideas or just the standard rhetoric? Your words, whilst in some cases sounding good, really are as good as Gorjian timeout - lots of hot air that no one really gets, but sound good for the crowd/cameras

171852 - your speed and style of response make you all too easy to pick. How about you take an outsiders point of view, realise that the program is not perfect (no one's is!, not even Dandy's), look to see if there is any improvements that can be made, instead of always being on the defensive.

I'll start off with one:

Transparant process. Sure it's not required to run a program, but i'm sure less people would be nominally against it if they knew how it operated. Same with the scholarship list, sure it's not required, but it would put some creditability behind all the hard work you and the other coaches do.

And as an aside (although i agree with your point), entering a SASI team into the grade above would assist as the stronger teams would lose players to the SASI team, creating a move even playing field (the opposite to lopsided). That's how it'd help... but i'm with you and don't like the idea.

At least now February's edition of "Bash SASI" is done...

I know who you think I am, but I am not that person. Infact I have no reason to defend the SASI program, just interested in good debate on it.

I reckon you raise a good point though about transparancy, its just the original post really was a waste of time IMO, I was just pointing out that it had no substance but was interested to see if they had any worthwhile points.

*Some players get extra trainings.

The way I understand it there are 2 levels of scholarship, so this is by design.

*Some players train with older groups.

1 only that I can think of in recent memory. In her best interests I guess.

*More effort goes into some not the whole.

Yes, because there are 2 tiers. That doesn't mean no effort goes into the lower tier.

*Therefore they are not given equal development opportunities.

Yes, there are 2 tiers.

*How SASI teams would benefit the comp was covered above.

It would also hurt the comp they come out of, as it would take out the best players.

*Netball is increasing its numbers, basketball?

Give us numbers.

*Netball exposes its SASI athletes weekly to solid competition against athletes trying to crack the SASI squad.

SASI do this by training the two tiers together for team sessions. Thus the players trying to move from tier 2 to tier 1 get that opportunity.

*Netball squads are small elite development squads which allows each member to receive the same imput, time and training.

Most SASI athletes do extra individual work with their club or SASI network coaches.

*Netball pathways of achievement are clearly defined.

So, are basketball's. SASI (ITC) to Australian camps (3-4 per year) to AIS to Australian junior and senior teams.

*Netball can fill the Dome , the Lightning can't.

But the Sixers can.

*Netball by having an updated site suggests a motivated and interested management team whilst the outdated basketball SASI site would indicate the reverse.

Yes this would be good to see.

*Better to have less numbers and develop them effectively than rope dozens as its meant to be elite.

That's why there are two tiers.

The SASI basketball program and netball programs are not serving the same goals. The basketball program is purely an underpinning program to the AIS. It was set up as such and contunies to work as such. Like all National ITC basketball programs, it's given funding primarily to produce players along the BA defined pathways to represent Australia. CLub - State - ITC - Australian Junior Camp - AIS - Austraian Junior Teams - Australian Senior Teams. Not that players outside this process don't represent Australia, although they are few and far between now days.

'NO' ITC basketball program in Australia has a team competiting in an organised weekly competition. That is because "latest skill aquisition principles' says players don't improve during competition. They improve during training.

Finally, comparing basketball to netball is just plain dumb. Basketball is an olympic sport ands has been for 50+ years. Netball is a semi-colonial sport that will never even be in the commonwealth games again.

Hey you guys - I ggo to SASI and have done now for 2 years. We spend half our time standing around waiting for other kids to learn basic skills like left hand lay ups etc. I thought it was meant to be for the elite kids. From what I have seen over the bit I have been is it serves no real purpose. The reason I go is so I can at least maybe get a trip to USA at the end of next year. I play at a better club and get the same training there. It is goood to have another training session a week though and it gets me out of homework. It would be good though if ALL the good kids came out, then we could test our skills against them. I know 5 or 6 that would walk it in the age group I am in and they don't come.

At SASI we do have the elite of the elite off in a sub group. This sub group, IMO, seem to get the type of training and attention that I imagined all kids would get in the program when we first got an invitation to attend; this is not the case. This means the rest of the "cattle" basicly do, as the last poster suggested, normal basic drills; drills that I have seen many times over within our own club training.

Why dont I pull my kid out? Again as the last poster suggested, you hang in there in the hope of something better: if you say "see ya" to the program you ruin any future chances at a state side that you might otherwise have had.

There is little, no, or very bad information flow to parents on what is actually going on within the program; please dont harp on about the information we recently had posted out. This type of info is posted out at the start of every year and is almost all we get.

God help your child if they are injured during the season. Thankfully my child has escaped any major injuries so far; however I know kids from our own club that have had fairly bad injuries from on and off the court, virtualy snubbed by the coaches down there and left to their own devices on the best course of treatment to over come such an injury - no advice, no pep talks, just (in most cases) a shouting at from the head coach down there about the injured kids lack of heart, desire and interest. If you have not personally witnessed this type of thing, please do not assume I am exagerating as it has happened time and again in my childs group. It is only a matter of time until my child cops it for being so stupid as to getting injured, it will happen.

The fact that SA contry trained their January squad participants weeks before they last went away, while SASI squad kids that went away trained for 4 hours before the tornament combined with the fact that we only found out 1 week before the bus left that our kid actually made the away trip speaks volumes about how this "elite" program is run and what needs to be done about it.

I am sure the director of the SASI Bball program gets paid quite well; I wonder what other talanted individual that type of money could buy?

Time for some affirmitive change.

Not ever being involved in SASI, as a hoops reader, it does appear that the communication is lacking at the hallowed halls of SASI.

The problem is though from my experience is that some basketball coaches do lack communication skills and do have a bit of a "they'll find out when they need to attitude". This is not knocking the coaches as they all must have great experience and be quite intelligent people to coach at the level they do.

Are there team manager's for these squads and should'nt they really be the liaison for better communication to the player/parent? I would have thought that the role of "Team Manager" means you manage the team, which would involve keeping parents informed. If there is no Team Manager - who is the administrative person, should this role then fall on them to keep parents informed.

I dont think that the coaches realise that with our busy lives people need to plan ahead, and that would include making sure that you had enough money to send kids on interstate/overseas trips. So you can make arrangements with work, schools etc. If a couple of kids are maybe's for these trips and not definites, it should still be communicated in that manner so parents still have the choice to perhaps plan.

What about those that improve and move into the "group" from the sub group. Surely they have benefitted from training and are not just training fodder!

Movement every year because players graduate and others move into their spots!

I guess you kid isn't good enough to get one of those spots then?

argie, thats an easy come back; however if they gave every kid the same extra training and attention that the "elite" are given then most of the group would improve beyond mesure, but sasi is not interested in improving the whole group.

The reason more of the group are not given this attention is that the guru's down there have got too many kids to work with and know that there are only ever going to be a limited amount of spots for the AIS intake. Thats all they are really interested in; meeting their quota in Canberra. The rest of the fodder will be turffed out when their use by date has expired (end of this year).

I can see this as a parent looking in; however try getting this through to a 14 y.o. who thinks this years crop will be different from last years group.

Its hard to watch your kid getting used, but if I were to stop them from participating I would be the villin.

I would fully support a smaller yearly intake of kids that are truley elite that all recieved the training they deserve, instead of the current "your all champions" tripe that is shoved down their gobs, even though my kid would probably miss out.

No wonder u 16's has the highest drop off rate in our sport; its after this year that some kids work out there is no future in putting their all into the sport.

Some kids who are not near the top of the pile at age 14 u/16, grow and physically mature over the next year or so. Don't throw the towel in yet. One girl I noticed at the u/16 state tryouts over the weekend has had a massive improvement from a first year u/16 last year to a second year u/16 this year. No it was not my daughter and no she was not from my club and no she is not personally known to me. She has obviously worked very hard over the past 12 months.

So #176191 are you suggesting that the coaches have issues with judging talent? I'm not being facetious here, it is a genuine question, not being involved.

anon #176191,

SASI is an underpinning program to the AIS. It's sole responsibility is too provide players to the AIS. That is what it is funded to do.

The kids at SASI work hard - while at SASI, at their clubs and on their own. Some kids not at SASI also work hard. Kids 'getting a ride' at SASI - stop kidding yourself. There is no easy ride in this process. WORK HARD at your club, where ever you are. If your club offers extra training, ie PIT training at Panthers. Do it. The whingers spend too much time whinging and not enough time working at their game and improving on their own weaknesses. I was told about a girl in SASI recently who works 14 hours per week on her basketball including training, shooting and games. Even though she loves basketball - don't tell me that is an easy ride. If you are good enough and work hard enough, you will be noticed - because SASI want the best. My kid doesn't spend any where near 14 hours per week, so she obviously isn't going to be as good as the kid who does.

anon #176252,

Who is going to pay for all this to happen? The funding from the ASC and BSA for SASI is for the underpinning program. Not for anything else, like all basketball if you can find the funding we can do everything. But currently there is a limited budget in which to achieve the desired results. PS Country kids have gotten to the AIS because they have had the most talent. Didn't stop the metro kids from making it.

A reply to Anon, that netball can fill the DOME but lightning can't, that was because the netball was the aussie netball team, im sure if the opals played a game at the DOME it would be filled!!!!