Apparently they couldn't tell the clubs who was coaching in it nor the structure.
Safe to say that is not very impressive.

Whats the use in going? Not an attack on BSA, but why would you make it open to every tom dick and harry if the purpose is to work with the best? Isn't that why there is a Dev camp? Will David Ingham have any involvement?

The best can easily be outside championship teams, without an inclusive process the same mediocre talent can be pushed forward at the expense of far more talented kids.

Start broad and cut hard. If kids don't turn up they should miss out.

NITP is a fantastic opportunity and players should fight for it.

Doesn't that sound contradictory? Invite 80 plus kids to a camp but then have them fight for a spot?

Why invite everyone from the bottom team and then embarrass them by exposing them to ridicule when you have to cut/drop them straight away.

Open Invite because players in lower grades at some stronger clubs may be better than higher at other clubs. Also dependent on types of players, heights etc in a club may mean you miss out on a higher division but still would be capable to make elsewhere. And before anyone bangs on about sharing it around.... This is about our state, so all that club loyalty goes out the window…. There are also talented kids who can not commit to Friday nights due to other family or parents work commitments that are talented as well. Who knows, the coaches may see a gem in a player that a club has not even looked twice at or playing them in a different position. Some coaches just don't like certain kids or run the loyalty card so better players are left in lower divisions so the star team that has moved together for years can not the broken in to, so those players trying to break in never have a chance so they are disadvantaged. Lots of factors, but for the sake of SA I am happy they have broadened the opportunity. It may well pay off and I hope it does. Then clubs and parents may look at the bigger picture a little more….

You need to remember the new coaching director is not a Sturt person so he is not blinded by club loyalty and arrogance. He also was a great player and knows kids will appear and develop from many different avenues in to the game. Thank god for a change like this.!!

AMEN ^^^^ And don't the Sturt people hate it.

"Why invite everyone from the bottom team and then embarrass them by exposing them to ridicule when you have to cut/drop them straight away."

Sorry but the chance of kids being riculed and put down are over, as it is not run by people who should not be working with kids.

Simply there will be players at this camp who shouldn't be there as they aren't good enough. They should be training with players at similar skill levels at the "development" camp, not at the elite ID one. Looks to me like BSA just got too lazy to work out who should be where...

Hilarious, How do you know if posters are from Sturt or not... Assumptions are often wrong, stop generalising…. every thread has a Sturt angle and that is just ridiculous…. get a grip please…. Players from Sturt still made teams even without Sturt coaches now and they and other clubs will continue to due to their size and own development strengths...… It's up to other clubs to use their successful coaches to say, hey these guys are getting some of our teams there not he mark, let's utilise their skills and share the love amongst other teams.. Norwood this year appears to be doing just that and power to them.. Its is nice to see some good competition, it makes us all strive to do better….

Every thread has a Sturt angle which exactly what they want. Most of the posts come from their direction and they get off on the attention.

Fact is that a lot more kids should be getting the opportunity and reality says that nearly all the kids that attend these camps have no chance of making an Australian team with minimal making a state team later on.

They do the camps because they love their sport and love being with their friends.Why not give as many of them an opportunity if they want to.

Missing the point. The same amount of kids have been invited to attend a camp as previously.

Just the balance of numbers has changed.

"Sorry but the chance of kids being riculed and put down are over, as it is not run by people who should not be working with kids."

I always find the irony humerous when people accuse a guy of ridiculing kids by ridiculing and insulting someone, annonymously in a public forum.... Sorry but who is the guilty part here??? HAve some guts and put your name to your post! And no I'm not NG and really don't have much association to him but just laugh at sad people like yourself that don't see the fact that you infact are the party guilty to what you are falsely accusing this person of. I can't wait to the day when you get sued.

I must have hit a nerve as I never mentioned names. Love that you put your name to your post.

So you think when kids are moved down to the end court and thought of as camp fodder, that wouldn't be considered ridicule? Or more importantly, a cash grab?

"They do the camps because they love their sport and love being with their friends.Why not give as many of them an opportunity if they want to. "

Because this is an elite development camp - not a keep everyone happy have some fun camp. The best players should be there to a certain limit to have the elite going with/against the elite, not destroying players that they destroy some weeks in the district competition.

Exactly supposed to be an elite camp. How is it elite now?

This is basically the same as inviting every player from a National Championships to an Australian Camp! There was nothing wrong with the previous years, apart from to many coaches from one club having to much to say! The elite level camp should be just that, lower these numbers and increase the development camp numbers. Otherwise there are always the Aussie hoops camps!

No it's not, the "elite" teams are filled with mediocre talent.

The player who could dominate the u16 Nationals this year does not play in the top tiers because she plays at a small club.

She could easily make a national team without playing championship.

Plenty of very average players making up the numbers in first teams at the big clubs.

All club have always received at least ancoupke of invites to previous camps. Hence those players always had an opportunity to attend. But to suggest the worst players on the worst teams will benefit from this is not very smart IMHO.

348 You sound twisted... and elitist.. There are some absolute gems out there that I hope pop up and prove to the elitists that the average may often be the best team player and have something to offer…. Just because a team is being smashed, it does not mean that an individual in that team has not got some untapped talent in the right team… I believe that opening up the Camps means that BSA may uncover players like those who played lower divisions all their life and persisted to upper juniors and seniors and made it to NBL, OS and even, yes the NBA. They never listened to those who had no faith and pushed through, worked hard and got there with the support of parents who drove them to every extra training, extra camp and tournament, kept their head down and never gave up… That's the kind of person i would want on my team regardless of the score…

It is an elite camp, the average (as YOU put it) belong in the development camp. I eagerly await your next "inclusive" solution to have every player involved from D1-D4, not to mention the All-Star 50.

^^ That's what development camps are for. One year our club didn't have a div 1 side so we got no invites to TI Camp. We rang the head coach at the time and asked if we could get any invites and he said no. However, he said he would keep an eye on the kids we identified in the development camp. The kid went to development camp and did well. He got an invite out to SASI and is now over in the states playing college hoops.

If this kid had gone to the elite camp. He would have not been ready for this level of competition and probably been disheartened, beaten and struggled.

There is nothing wrong segmenting kids according to their ability. It's unrealistic expectations that some put on their own kids that does the damage.

Infact, if you speak to sports psychologists and scientists or study the subject, this is actually good for their development. All the do gooders (people that make statements because it sounds like a nice thing to say, without thinking through the alternatives), are doing bad, generally make statements based on poor knowledge and research. They sink their head into a dark hole of their false reality, thinking they know it all, and therefore this negates their capabilities to learn and develop in life.

432 - Average only in your eyes, obviously marked up to Talented by the selection panel... You are so angry, grabbing every word and spinning it out of context…. Are you worried someone you know may get pushed out or did they miss out on the camp ???? I know a great relaxation clinic… This must be more than just about the basketball for you to be so angry...

You know I can speak from experience as a former player, coach and now parent of a junior finishing the program. Many of the so called "elite players" that stand out in U14 are gone or average by U18. Why the hell would you think your child is above all others and should be given special status as a 12 or 13 year old. Its quite possible that the best players in this age group are yet to play above social level. (I can name many past examples)
For many years we had a program that pigeon holed players labelling them as elite or not as young kids, it was criminal and that tag often stayed with them for the rest of their junior time and it was such a tough thing to shake off, especially if they didn't play in the "right" team.
The Sturt junior boys program is on the downward slide, due mainly to the fact that SASI as it formally existed was a 3rd weekly training for the club.

430 that is. Yes to 431 - but on the flip side there are those that do make it through who would have missed out. Life is a risk.. There are so many things that parents can do that harm their children aside from this issue. Not negating those that are affected. How do you know that will be the case this time. DO YOU PERSONALLY KNOW AND WATCHED ALL THE KIDS GAMES.... I think not...

433, you miss the main point. Kids develop at different rates - sometimes due to puberty, genetics, length of time they have been playing, level of coaching and learning they have done in their club environment.

The kid I mentioned would have struggled in the "elite" TI camp at the time but had potential. Why expose a kid to an environment where they are going to be out of their depth, learning skills that are well beyond their capabilities?

The new model will work fine if they are willing to split the kids up according to the ability/level they compete at. They need to customise the curriculum and drills to the level of the kids and ensure kids are competing and working with kids that will push them but not destroy them.

There is nothing wrong with segmenting kids according to ability, capability and level of learning and letting those kids develop at their own pace in an environment that will push them but enable them to experience success as well, whilst customising the curriculum to specific needs of the various segments. It's actually healthy to do this, what is unhealthy is unrealistic expectations people put on kids when they think they should/can compete at levels beyond their capabilities. At the end of the day kids just want to play basketball, not get dominated!!

"So you think when kids are moved down to the end court and thought of as camp fodder, that wouldn't be considered ridicule? Or more importantly, a cash grab?"

so if the kids aren't good enough, don't send them along and don't pay. if you think they might show something that a previous selector hadn't noticed, then pay.

Which is exactly what will happen. The best Div 2 kids won't attend the Development Camp and the weaker Div 1 kids won't attend the TI Camp.

End result less kids getting the opportunity to be seen. Complete opposite of what everyone wants.

"Are you worried someone you know may get pushed out or did they miss out on the camp ???? "

Not really, apparently it is impossible to not get picked for this "keep everyone happy" camp! Don't worry about placing the kids into groups of similarly talented kids, so the "do-gooders" can polish their halo's a little bit more.

Absolute waste of time and money. BASA don't even consult the clubs about their direction for elite level athletes and squads.

Wow, seems to be more complaining now Sturt out of the picture.... Who would have thought…. Bring back Sturt !!!

Speak to your club's JDO about the issue and if they are unable to provide the reason for the change ask them to approach David Ingham at Basketball SA to find out.