With the start of the 2023/24 season, a new mini basketball project will begin. Since 2016, the clubs and the basketball federation thought about changing the structure of basketball for this age group. The creation of the « Microleagues » by certain clubs was a first step into this direction.
Christophe Toussaint, who is among the people that worked out the new concept, says that the main advantages of the new project are „that we try to create an environment where children can have fun and improve their basketball skillset at the same time. The main focus is on the development of all players. » Together with Toussaint, other coaches worked on this project: Peter Rajniak, Jhemp Sinner, Pit Rodenbourg and Christian Nittler were part of the working group. Rajniak and Sinner took part in the FIBA Europe Minibasketball Coaching Certificate and received impressions on how other countries manage basketball with kids in this age group.
There are several advantages of the new concept for everybody involved. All children will get more time on the court to work on their skills and coaches feel less pressure to win games and can focus on the development of their players. There is also more room to meet other coaches and parents in tournament situations.
The main changes of the concept include:
– less players on the court (4vs4 on U12, 3vs3 on U10)
– more balanced playing times between the players
– several tournaments replace the weekly games
– adapted rules for a more fluent game rhythm
Over the next months and years, the concept will be adapted with the gained experiences and the feed-back that will arrive. The U8-structures will be analyzed and eventually be changed in an upcoming phase. In addition, there will be a focus on the continuing education of all coaches and responsible people involved in the project.
–> You can read the booklet to get all details on the new project.
