A Smarter Way to Learn: Inside Basketball Australia’s New Community Coach Mentoring Model

For years, mentoring has been one of the most valued  and most talked about  parts of coach development in Australian basketball. Coaches who have been through Basketball Australia’s Community Coach Mentoring Program consistently say the same thing: it changed the way I coach. Not because someone gave them a playbook or told them what to do, but because someone helped them think better, reflect deeper, and see the game and their role in it more clearly. But as the game has evolved, so too has the way coaches learn. That’s why Basketball Australia is introducing a refreshed Community Coach Mentoring model: shorter, sharper, and more intentionally designed, built around 6–8 week mentoring modules, inspired by best practice models used internationally, including the German Football Association (DFB). This isn’t mentoring made smaller. It’s mentoring made smarter.

Why the Change?

Traditional mentoring programs often run for long periods of time. While well-intentioned, they can sometimes struggle with momentum, clarity of purpose, and practical alignment with a coach’s season.

Community coaches are busy. They’re volunteers. They’re juggling families, work, and weeknight trainings in cold stadiums. Asking them to commit to an open-ended mentoring journey isn’t always realistic. The new model flips that thinking. Instead of one long program, coaches now engage in focused mentoring blocks, each with:

• A clear purpose
• A defined start and finish

• Practical, on-court relevance

How the New Mentoring Model Works

Each mentoring experience runs for 6–8 weeks and is, at its core built around a specific coaching theme or development focus. However that is not to say the group will be able to develop beyond that and focus on different areas.

Examples might include:

• Coaching young players in their first competitive season
• Designing effective training sessions
• Game-day decision making
• Supporting player engagement and retention

• Coaching adolescents through key development stages

What a Typical Mentoring block Looks Like

While the exact format may vary, most modules will include:

• A small mentor group (not a webinar, not a lecture)
• Regular touchpoints across the 6–8 week period
• Access to the Coach Logic tool
• Guided reflection and discussion
• Practical application in the coach’s own environment
• Support from an experienced, trained mentor
• CDP Points  - 25 points toward qualification

The aim isn’t to tell coaches what to do. It’s to help them make better decisions in their context.

The Value for Mentees: Why Coaches Should Apply

If you’re a community coach, the value of mentoring often comes down to one simple thing: Someone helping you make sense of the chaos.

This program is designed for coaches who:

• Want to improve but don’t need another drill sheet
• Feel confident enough to ask questions
• Are curious about why things work, not just what works

• Want to connect learning directly to their coaching environment

What You Can Expect to Get Out of It

1. Clarity around your coaching approach
2. Better decision-making on and off the court
3. Confidence in your planning and delivery
4. A sounding board when things aren’t working
5. Practical ideas you can use immediately

Just as importantly, you’ll realise something many good coaches discover through mentoring: You’re not the only one dealing with these challenges.

The Value for Mentors: Why Experienced Coaches Get Involved

Mentoring isn’t about having all the answers. In fact, the best mentors in this program are often the ones who ask the best questions.

For mentors, this model offers:

• A clear, time-bound commitment
• The opportunity to give back without burnout
• Meaningful engagement with motivated coaches
• Professional growth through reflection and discussion
• Many mentors report that mentoring actually improves their own coaching. Explaining your thinking, listening to others, and seeing the game through different lenses has a way of sharpening your own practice.
• CDP Points - 50 points towards qualification

In short: mentoring isn’t the end of your development journey. It’s part of it.

Who Is This Program For?

This mentoring model is aimed at community coaches across all stages, particularly those who:

• Are actively coaching (or about to be)
• Are open to reflection and discussion
• Want support, not supervision
• Are ready to engage and contribute, not just consume

It is not designed as:

• A remedial program
• A qualification replacement
• A one-way transfer of knowledge

Instead, it sits alongside formal education as a developmental accelerator.

How It Fits Into the New Coach Development Framework

Mentoring is a critical pillar of Basketball Australia’s Coach Development Framework. Courses build knowledge. Experience builds context. Mentoring connects the two.

Under the new framework, mentoring:

1. Supports ongoing development beyond accreditation
2. Encourages reflection and self-directed learning
3. Recognises that coaches learn best in conversation, not isolation

4. Aligns with a modern, flexible, coach-centred pathway

Rather than being a “nice extra,” mentoring is now positioned as a valuable and intentional development option for coaches who want to keep growing.

Great coaching doesn’t come from ticking boxes. It comes from: Thinking deeply, asking good questions and learning from others.

This refreshed Community Coach Mentoring Program is designed to do exactly that – without overloading coaches or over-engineering the experience.

Shorter. Sharper. Purpose-driven. And most importantly, built for the realities of community basketball.

Applications are open now at the below links, module themes, and mentor details will be released progressively through the BA Coaches platform following the launch of the Coach Development framework next week.

If you’re ready to invest in your coaching – and do it in a way that respects your time – this is where the next step begins.