Kings guard Angus Glover and Flames guard Kiera Rowe were at the Hoops Capital Academy recently to meet with our players and speak about their NBL and WNBL experience.
The Hoops Capital Academy is in full swing with term two around the corner the Sydney Kings and Sydney Uni Flames players will be assisting our coaches throughout the term and in our holiday camps.
LEARN ABOUT OUR HOOPS CAPITAL ACADEMY HERE
The pair were involved in multiple classes speaking about their experiences as junior players and what it takes to be professional basketballers.
Rowe spoke about how through her career she’s spoken with many young basketballers and enjoys sharing her experiences.
“It’s good to see kids early on in their development,” she said.
“We saw two groups, one of the younger groups and then one of the older groups. They had more training under their belt, but they were eager to learn more from us. Which is exciting.”
Glover explained that this sort of program would have helped their development significantly in their junior careers.
“Anytime you get exposed to people at a high level it’s going to help you improve,” he said.
“All the kids we spoke to in there we’re really eager to learn. We were just as eager at that age to so if we had that exposure early it would have helped a lot.”
Rowe sharing her WNBL experience with the group
The Academy’s Next-Gen Squads form an important part of the Hoops Capital Academy vision to provide a linear pathway from beginner to elite basketball. This can lead to potential a development player slot with either the Kings or Flames.
Glover was a development player with the NBL’s Illawarra Hawks to start his career. He spoke about how this program can lead to what he experienced early in his career.
“I think having the initiative for the older players to have a trail to be a development player with the Kings and Flames is really cool,” Glover said.
“I think it’s going to help drive people towards the Academy and make it a continual, healthy process for young athletes coming through. I’m really excited to see who gets those spots first.”
Apart of the Academy is learning from the best coaches in Australia, the Kings’ head coach Chase Buford and the Flames’ head coach Shane Heal are involved in the programs. Rowe explained what it means to have these great basketball minds working with young athletes.
“You look at Shane and Chase, both have played and coached in America, Shane played in the NBA, but Chase has coached over there,” she said.
“They’ve worked at the highest level and for us and the players at the academy to learn from them is great. We learn from them every day, so these kids have a lot of wisdom around them.”
The Hoops Capital Academy is running programs in each term and school holidays. Learn about the program here.