“Analyzing the basketball trends of recent years, the results of the Lithuanian national basketball teams and seeing the public discussion about the reasons that prevent the full potential of Lithuanian basketball, we are looking for innovations that could strengthen the training of individually strong players. One of the steps we are taking is to integrate the most advanced existing training methods for young basketball players. One of these is the methodology used by USA Basketball. For several years now, the main methodologist of USA Basketball, responsible for the coordination of all youth programs, the selection of coaches and the selection of players, coach Don Showalteris, has been coming to Lithuania, – said M. Balčiūnas. – We are very happy that coach Showalter agreed to participate in fundamentally updating the training methodology and training trends of young Lithuanian basketball players. Don Showalter becomes a consultant for the Lithuanian Basketball Coaches Association and the Lithuanian Basketball Federation.”
With the help of Don Showalter, who has been working for USA Basketball since 2016, it will be analyzed and decided which aspects of the long-term training of basketball players need to be emphasized, which innovations should be introduced so that Lithuania has as many individually strong basketball players as possible who successfully represent the country in the national team. During his career, D. Showalter has been the head coach of the USA U16 and U17 national teams and won gold medals at the World (2010, 2012, 2014, 2016, 2018) and American Championships.
“I am very happy to be able to cooperate with the Lithuanian Basketball Federation. As a consultant, I will try to contribute to the improvement of the training program and the improvement of the playing level of Lithuanian basketball players, said Donas Showalteris. – The strength of Lithuanian youth basketball is the high level of skills – from throwing to driving the ball. There are some drawbacks that need to be noted. It is mainly related to the physical preparation of the players, but also certain psychological aspects that come out of it.”
Speaking about the main highlights of the modern US youth national teams, D. Showalter emphasized that special attention is paid to the game in defense. “Defence is probably the most important part of how we play from U16 to U19. We press a lot in all areas of the pitch. We consider this an advantage because we have a lot of players who can play this way. We also have many equal players compared to the competition. Everything starts with the defense, because if our defense is good, it will automatically create opportunities in the attack”, emphasized the director of youth and sports development of USA Basketball.
2024-09-06 01:31:29