London Lions Launch International Coaching Programme

Recruiting & Nurturing the Next Generation of Top British Coaches

London Lions Launch International Coaching Programme

As well as captivating and inspiring the minds of young sports-inspired creatives and nurturing the talents of young British basketball players, the London Lions will now set out to train the new generation of British-based coaches with the launch of the ‘International Coaching Programme.'

The International Coaching Programme is a 3-month development course created by the London Lions Basketball organisation for British coaches. This course is for individuals aiming to pursue a full-time coaching career in basketball and want to learn and expand their knowledge of coaching concepts.

In addition to the basketball (on-court) delivery, the coaches will also learn about human development and on importance of communication as well as relationship building. This is so the coaches are better prepared to work with the young athletes on and off the court.

This programme will also teach the coaches how to deliver youth development initiatives, work with young athletes and develop them on and off the court. Applicants must also have a strong desire to work in a high-paced, team-oriented environment and be open to sharing and learning from others with similar career aspirations.

This opportunity, unique in British Basketball, will see selected coaches placed at one of our partnering basketball clubs in Europe where the coaches will be fully engrained in their coaching staff between February and May 2023.

London Lions designed this programme to create an environment that formulates new ideas and philosophies to help develop the minds of a new generation of British-based coaches.

If we can't bring new ideas in, let's send the coaches out to learn new ideas and strategies and to expose them to what other coaches and clubs are doing across Europe.

Stated Programme Director and women’s team General Manager, Vanja Cernivec.

The goal of the program is for coaches to be full immersed in the host club’s development system and mentored by their coaches. They will be challenged and exposed to different basketball styles, principles and philosophies. We believe this will help them find their own voice and authenticity.

Discussing the core principles of the course, Vanja Cernivec hopes the coaches understand their effect on young players:

“We want the coaches to be aware of their responsibility when stepping into the coaching/ mentoring roles. Young athletes usually look up to their coaches, and at times the coach is not even aware of the influence they have. For this reason, we want coaches to reflect on what it means to be a good mentor and a coach, what values I want to promote through the game of basketball, etc.”

Why do you want to be a coach? How do you know what kind of a mentor you’ll be and what values you want to share? We want the coaches to use all the values that come through teamwork, principal leadership, accountability, and hard work.

Continuing to break new ground as they did with the late Andrea Boland, the first and only woman coach in the British Basketball League, London Lions women’s team General Manager, Vanja Cernivec believe it is important for up-and-coming women coaches to also apply for the programme:

I think it’s very important that women are encouraged to take opportunities like this.It’s great to hear about experienced women being hired in high-level positions, but those are few and far between. The real change needs to start in levelling the field for women in entry-level positions and helping them develop and grow into high-profiled (coaching) jobs.

Vanja Cernivec wants to recruit ambitious coaches that want to build a full-time career in basketball and is not afraid of them being hired several years down the line by a European or British rival:

“Haha, definitely not afraid of that. That is the dream. If we get to that stage, it will be a sign that we are doing something right. And I only see it as a win-win for every body!”