“I firmly believe in the chosen direction of the development of Lithuanian basketball, the work started, new ideas based on international practice, of course, sports science and a healthy, cool mind, so I inform you that I will be one of the candidates in the upcoming presidential elections of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation and I really hope for the support of the Lithuanian basketball community “, says M. Balčiūnas, presenting his candidacy and emphasizing the necessity of continuity of ongoing changes.
Reforms of the Lithuanian basketball system
“The last three years – the Olympic cycle was a little shorter – was a time of very intense changes in the Lithuanian basketball system and structure. We take the base of the long-functioning and effective Lithuanian basketball model, when it is fully decentralised, when autonomous organizations with their own functions carry out their activities, and that model has indeed generated both basketball talents and basketball victories for many years, – notes Mindaugas Balčiūnas. “Our first goal was to restore the former structure.”
Selection game and winnings
“The main goal of the activities of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation is basketball victories and achievements. This should be evaluated through the comparison of Olympic cycles. This Olympic cycle was definitely more positive compared to the previous one. If we take the results of the boys’ basketball teams, there were more medals, more semi-final stage matches, higher places were won, adding up the results of all teams.
This shows a positive trend, it shows the effectiveness of the measures. As I mentioned, the focus was on rebuilding the general structure and there was not so much time to concentrate on the actual content of the activity, training players, club development. These are the tasks of the next Olympic cycle. We have a very clear plan, what measures we will apply, what changes we will make in order to make the entire training of young basketball players more efficient”, emphasizes M. Balčiūnas.
LKF finances and budget growth
“The last years have been a very intensive financial growth of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation. Many words of thanks need to be said to our supporters, whose contributions have tripled over the past three years. And the total budget of the federation increased from two and a half million to five million. This is the first condition for the further, smooth development of basketball. In general, the smooth operation of the Lithuanian Basketball Federation requires about six million. I am sure that in the next few years we can reach this limit as well”, says M. Balčiūnas.
Future plans
“All attention must be paid to the content of the activity, i.e. the training of basketball players, the development of clubs, the development of leagues. We are preparing a plan for necessary reforms and necessary solutions, which will soon be presented to both the general public and the basketball community. The plan will reflect the essential and most necessary changes so that we can once again see our national basketball identity as well as the integration of new basketball trends. This is necessary, basketball is changing, the specifics of the game, the training methods of players are changing, and these are the priorities of the next four years”, notes Mindaugas Balčiūnas.
2024-08-16 12:37:37