Joey
Soleiman.

MY APPROACH

Help players
see the game.

Basketball has been a huge part of my life, from representing Country Victoria to playing SEABL and Youth League. The Players Lab is a chance to share what those years have taught me: how to read the game, back yourself and keep learning.

The game is the teacher.

We introduce a concept, then put it into play through purposeful small-sided games and 5v5. I coach on the fly, ask questions and help players understand the decisions in front of them. Our guiding balance is 20% coaching and 80% playing.

Room to make mistakes.

Players need opportunities to try something, notice what happened and make another decision. The aim is to develop confidence, communication and an understanding of how to contribute to a team.

Reflect, adjust, try again.

Three questions guide our reflection: What did I see? What did I learn? What will I try? Players bring a journal to capture what the game is teaching them.

“You need to love coaching more than you love winning.”

Effort and attitude are the controllables. That’s where we start.

MY BASKETBALL BACKGROUND

Experience
on the court.

• Represented Country Victoria at jamborees and national tournaments, captaining across multiple junior years.
• VJBL league MVP and VJBL champion.
• Multiple Jamboree championship gold medals and a national championship silver medal.
• Five years in Country Victoria’s high-performance development pathway through its Intensive Training Centre (ITC) program.
• Invited to and attended multiple development camps at the AIS, home to today’s Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence.
• Played SEABL, one of Australia’s leading senior competitions, and Youth League basketball.

MY COACHING

• Competition Bronze basketball coaching accreditation.
• More than four years coaching domestic basketball; currently in my second year of rep coaching.