"My kid missed out on playing basketball this year because the school couldn't find someone to coach his team. It was heart-breaking. I'd love to coach them myself but I don't have the skills or confidence to do it."

Sound familiar? The data supports the anecdotal evidence - with participant to coach ratios sitting at around 15:1 in the Manawatū and 16:1 in Whanganui.

We don’t want our tamariki and rangatahi missing out, so we’re teaming up with Basketball Manawatū, Basketball New Zealand and the Property Brokers Jets to develop and support community coaching by empowering whānau members, school teachers and staff, and other volunteers to become coaches.

Our programme involves guidance and support to complete the Basketball Manawatū Online Kiwi Hoops Coach Development Course, followed by a two-hour practical workshop with a Basketball New Zealand-accredited coach developer.

To find out more about our Kiwi Hoops Coach Development Course, or to register for the programme, email us at info@centralbasketball.org.nz