Around the Den Podcast

On this week's episode of the Around the Den Podcast, Briana Gray from our Big V Championship Women takes us through her basketball journey.

On this week's episode of Around the Den, the boys discuss the outcome of the Basketball Victoria Awards night, the new management structure coming into place for our VJBL program, and provide an update on our Big V teams' progress.

In today's episode of Around the Den, we are joined by Nathan Davis, McKinnon's Big V import player for the Championship Men's team. Nathan takes us through his basketball journey, from growing up in a small town in Pennsylvania to playing overseas and the effects COVID had on his early career. This is an episode not to be missed!

On this week's episode of Around the Den, Peter, Nathan and Daniel recap Round 2 of the Big V season before getting stuck into a hot topic amongst the three of them, Defense!  

The Around the Den Podcast is back! In this week's episode, Nathan, Peter, and Daniel do a quick recap of the last few months including McKinnon Cougars athletes who were selected for Victorian State representation, a recap of Round 1 of the Big V season, and more.

Ever wondered what you should be doing over the summer holidays? In today's episode, Peter, Nathan and Daniel play a game of "Would You Rather" to help provide some ideas and guidance for players as they head into the longest break of the VJBL calendar. Peter also interviews Mitch Barry, Head Coach of the 14.2 Boys and Championship Men's Player for the Steelcon Fabrications VJBL Team of the Week!

In today's episode, the boys are joined by Youth League Women's player and U14.4 Girls Head Coach, Hannah McGillen! The group discusses the differences between the Program Training Session and a Team Training session, how coaches plan for both, and how they can impact a game on Friday nights. They also discuss how players can help build extra training habits outside of their team training sessions to speed up their development. We also get some insight into Hannah's U14.4s as the Steelcon Fabrications VJBL Team of the Week!

Season Two of Around the Den is here!  On today's episode, Peter, Nathan and Daniel discuss the first few practice games for our McKinnon Cougars teams, the style of play our teams have been learning so far this season, and how parents can spot aspects of this during the upcoming grading games. For our Steelcon Fabrications VJBL Team of the Week, Peter interviews Justin Calleja from our 12.4 Girls about how their start to the season has been going so far and what they have been learning at training and games.

On this week's episode of Around the Den, U18.1G and Youth League athlete, Natalie Keane, discusses her journey to accepting a scholarship at Cameron University for the 2023 NCAA season.

For episode 13 of the Around the Den Podcast Peter, Nathan, Daniel and Darren discuss the tryout process, what to expect if it's your first time, how selections are made, and what you can do to best prepare!

This week's episode kicks off our College Pathway Series, where we interview current and previous McKinnon Cougar Athletes who have made the jump to the US college system. In this week's episode, Ebony McMillan from our Championship Women gives us some insight into the process of finding a college and some of the ups and downs along the way. Peter, Nathan, and Daniel, also discuss last weekend's Big V finals series and provide some information about the McKinnon Cougars Awards Night.

On today's episode of the podcast, Peter, Nathan and Daniel discuss the new U8's competition being implemented in the upcoming Summer Domestic Season, Nathan introduces us to the 2023 McKinnon Cougars head coaches, and the boys discuss this weekend's Big V Semi-Finals match-up vs Wyndham. Peter also Interviews Daisy Nousis from our U16.1 Girls about her experience at the Australian Junior Championships and what it was like to win a Bronze medal for Victoria as a bottom-age player! To purchase tickets for the Big V Semi-Final this weekend, click here ->  https://www.eventbrite.co.nz/e/mckinnon-cougars-vs-wyndham-basketball-semi-final-series-tickets-394765162227  

This week's episode of Around the Den features an interview with U18.1 Boys coach, Jarred Kieser on his experience at the U16 Australian Junior Championships with the Vic Metro Boys. Nathan Geer's Clinic on teaching the 'Super Six' Basketball skills - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vq8flrWQOBY

With not a lot of basketball going on at the MBA this week, Peter and Nathan discuss last week's VJBL and Big V rounds, an exciting improvement at one of our basketball facilities, and Peter interviews Clayton Watt, Head Coach of our Steelcon Fabrications Team of the Week, the 14.4 Girls. Our guest on the podcast is none other than Durham McInnis - legendary strength and conditioning coach to multiple WNBL and Australian Opals teams, and the Founder and Director of Core Advantage Athletic Developement. Peter and Durham take a deep dive into the variety of issues that athletes of all levels face, the importance of injury prevention, the art of getting back on court after being sick, and the best strategies they can implement to continue to excel at the sport they love. Show Notes: Sport-Specific Fitness  https://www.coreadvantage.com.au/blog/sports-specific-fitness-youre-probably-doing-it-wrong Game-Fit - Best fitness drill for Basketball https://www.coreadvantage.com.au/blog/game-fit-the-best-training-method-to-improve-fitness-during-the-preseason Core Advantage Interval Timer Apphttps://apps.apple.com/au/app/core-advantage-interval-timer/id1326735105 Core Advantage Websitehttps://www.coreadvantage.com.au/  

Episode 8 of Around the Den gives us a quick update on a few VJBL teams as well as some high performers from Round 13, an overview of the current Big V competition, and an interview with the Steelcon Fabrications Team of the Week, U14.1 Girls Head Coach, Brooke Day.

Many of our VJBL teams competed in tournaments across the weekend, so Nathan and Peter break down some of the results and experiences our Cougars teams were a part of. Peter also interviews Miguel Gomes, Head Coach of our Steelcon Fabrications Team of the Week, the 16.3 Boys. Darren and Nathan sit down with Macs Monk, Basketball NSW Country High-Performance Coach, to talk about how modifying competitions can help with the development, enjoyment, and retention, and some of the skills he thought were missing at the National Junior Classic over the weekend.

Peter and Nathan discuss the latest news out of the McKinnon Basketball Association including the start of the Winter Domestic Regular Season, our Steelcon Fabrication McKinnon Cougar Team of the Week, and an update on how our Big V teams went over the weekend and more. Peter also sits down with Big V Championship Men's player, Sharif Black, to talk about his life growing up in Detroit, making the jump from high school to college, and his experience playing overseas. This episode is not to be missed!

Peter and Nathan give you the latest updates from Around the Den, including the start of the Winter Domestic Season, some Cougars teams who have had success in the VJBL competition recently, our Steelcon Fabrications McKinnon Cougar Team of the Week, an update on how our Big V teams are progressing and more! Nathan also sits down with McKinnon Basketball Association's Director of Coaching, Darren Anderson, to discuss the challenges of engaging Generation Z, how we can learn from their love of technology to deliver fun training sessions, and some key tips for structuring a 45-minute training session of any level. To fast forward to their conversation go to timestamp 21:30. Youth Basketball Drills - Jnr. NBA/MOJO: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLaSL84U3HNjD_i35oA9SiHpOvlVmowv8-

Episode 4 of Around the Den gives us a quick update on a few VJBL teams as well as some high performers from Round 9, breaking news from inside the Big V teams, and an interview with Team of the Week U16.2 Boys Head Coach, Jono Hansford.

Peter and Nathan are back to fill you in on the latest news from Around the Den, including the McKinnon Juniors who have been selected for Basketball Victoria State teams and programs, the new domestic grading process, our McKinnon Cougar Team of the Week, an update on how our Big V teams are progressing and more!

Nathan and Peter discuss the impact the COVID-19 #lockdown has had on basketball athletes around Victoria, and how coaches can manage their return to training and games while following government restrictions. For Social Distancing Fitness Drills and Skills https://www.dropbox.com/s/e1rd3yjyq34otgz/Social%20Distancing%20-%20Drill%20Thoughts.pdf?dl=0 For information on Chris Oliver's Basketball Decision Training https://www.dropbox.com/s/hhteudg6k1ub9kt/what-to-teach-how-to-teach-zero-seconds-bdt.pdf?dl=0 Remember to send us any questions or topics you might have for our mailbag segment! www.mckinnonbasketball.org/podcast    

Nathan Geer (Basketball Development Manager) and Peter Kotaridis (Marketing and Communications Manager) keep you updated with what is happening at the McKinnon Basketball Association. In today's episode, Nathan and Peter discuss the work the MBA have been doing during #lockdown. For more information regarding the Online Training Challenge (OTC) www.mckinnonbasketball.org/otc For more information regarding the Coaches club and coaching resources www.mckinnonbasketball.org/coaches-1 For more information regarding the Community Support Program www.mckinnonbasketball.org/communitysupportprogram