Respected Queensland coach Jackie Brown recently attended the FIBA World Association of Basketball Coaches Level One Female Coach Instructors Course in Dubai, joining coaches from 14 other countries in the intensive three-day course. Jackie has kindly shared her reflections from the course.
We all know that for our athletes to be better, we as coaches need to have that hunger to be better. During the ongoing journey to become better, often the ability to self-reflect can be a difficult process. Allowing ourselves to be vulnerable to expose our weaknesses and challenge our methods, concepts, and approaches within our role as female coaches and leaders can help us discover who we truly are. This may then stop the fears that can hold us back from opportunities that will not only see us grow and develop as coaches but also as people.
So, when an opportunity presented itself to represent Australia at the first-ever FIBA World Association of Basketball Coaches Level 1 Female Instructor Course held in Dubai, in which 15 coaches from Asia, Europe and Oceania would come together in a drive to bolster the basketball coaching profession for women, I grasped it with both hands. I felt it would be an opportunity to personally grow and develop, and then return home to share my experiences and potentially help and further develop and support likeminded coaches and leaders.
Little did I know that the experience would be life changing. A group of 15 women who came from very different backgrounds, spoke different languages, fulfilled differing roles within their federations, would soon become united through incredible instructors providing a safe, comforting, and positive environment that encouraged and allowed each of us to open and expose our vulnerabilities. We were pushed outside of our comfort zones and were constantly challenged together. It showed me that to be in a state of uncomfortableness is where we achieve growth.
A feeling that brought us close as a group was the realisation that regardless of our background and differing cultures, we all experienced feelings of self-doubt, and at times, lacked self-confidence. It was very empowering to know that you were not alone and that the greatest support for women in leadership positions can come from other likeminded women. We are not competitors but rather, we can be each other’s greatest allies.
The course, which ran over three days, is designed to challenge, educate, motivate, and develop us as leaders, coaches, and coach instructors. We were all extremely grateful to FIBA and WABC for giving us the platform to increase our knowledge, draw from our learned experiences, share challenges and visions, and empower each other to gather the skills and necessary tools to bring this experience back home to our respective countries and inspire fellow women coaches and leaders.
As I sit here reflecting on my time in Dubai, (whilst wearing a Denmark Basketball t shirt gifted to me by one of my newly acquired coaching colleagues and, more importantly, friend), I find myself smiling and being brought back to the memory of 15 incredible women from 14 different countries on a journey of learning and self-discovery, standing at the Dubai Marina, once strangers now allies on a united by a mission to inspire and empower other women leaders. I am smiling because I am so grateful for such an opportunity, and I would encourage other coaches to do the same and to witness firsthand one of the joys that our great game has to offer.
Coach Jackie Brown
Here is the FIBA release about the course.
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