About

Ontario Basketball’s Tall Player Project provides specialized training for tall female basketball players. The program is specifically designed to develop skills Canada Basketball has identified as important for tall players to succeed at the international basketball level.

Why focus on tall players?

At the highest levels of play, tall players have a tremendous impact on the outcome of the game. For this reason, Ontario Basketball is focusing on encouraging more tall players to not only begin playing basketball but to stay in the game. Too often young tall players drop out at later stages of development.

Tall players may drop out of basketball for a number of reasons:

  • Tall players are often restricted in what skills they are allowed to perform. This is done with the intention of teaching them to be post players, but it too often restricts their skill development. (For example, tall players are often discouraged from dribbling the ball up the court therefore they do not develop strong ball handling skills.)
  • Shorter players are often more coordinated at younger ages and dominate the ball so taller players do not touch the ball as often.
  • When tall players do have the ball, they are not competing against players their own size, which can lead to unfair comparisons.
  • Tall players face different physical challenges that often do not get addressed in a generalized basketball practice.
  • Being tall can create social-emotional challenges for young female athletes that impact their confidence. Being around other tall players can greatly improve their self-confidence.

The Tall Player Project is designed to address some of these challenges and help tall players stay in the game and reach their full potential.

Program Structure

For the 2019–20 season, the program consists of four centralized training sessions led by Agnes Borg, Ontario Basketball Women’s Technical Lead.

Details about the training sessions are below.

Eligibility

Female athletes between the of ages 14 and 17 who meet the height requirements outlined in the Tall Player Identification table below.

Note: Athletes between the ages of 11 and 13 who meet the height requirements for their respective ages are encouraged to contact Agnes Borg to be identified and to participate in Ontario Basketball’s Centre for Performance (October to March) and Ontario Summer Development Program (April to July) to help develop general basketball skills prior to participating in the Tall Player Project.

Training Sessions

DateTimeLocation
Sunday, September 15, 201911:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.Abilities Centre (55 Gordon Street, Whitby)
Sunday, December 1, 201911:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.Abilities Centre (55 Gordon Street, Whitby)
Sunday, February 9, 202011:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.Abilities Centre (55 Gordon Street, Whitby)
Sunday, April 12, 202011:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.Abilities Centre (55 Gordon Street, Whitby)

Curriculum

Each session spends time developing players in Canada Basketball’s four pillars of basketball development: basketball, physical, mental and social-emotional.

Pillar: Basketball

  • Basketball skills and concepts tailored to tall players’ needs

Pillar: Physical

  • Physical assessment
  • Individualized movement preparation and prehabilitation program

Pillars: Mental & Social-Emotional

  • Educational sessions

Tall Player Identification

AgeHeight (Tall)Height (Very Tall)Development Actions
11≥ 171-175 cm
≥ 5’7”-5"8"
≥ 176 cm
≥ 5’9”
Contact Agnes Borg to be identified.*
Contact Centre for Performance coach in your region to participate in CP (October to March).
Contact Ontario Summer Development Program coach in your region to participate in OSDP (April to July).
12≥ 175-179 cm
≥ 5’9’’-5'10"
≥ 180 cm
≥ 5’11”
13≥ 180-184 cm
≥ 5’11”-6'
≥ 185 cm
≥ 6’1”
14≥ 184-188 cm
≥ 6’-6'1"
≥ 189 cm
≥ 6’2”
Contact Agnes Borg to participate in Tall Player Project (October to March).
15≥ 187-194 cm
≥ 6’2”-6'4
≥ 195 cm
≥ 6’5”
16≥ 188-195 cm
≥ 6’2”-6'4"
≥ 196 cm
≥ 6’5”
17≥ 189-195 cm
≥ 6’2”-6'4"
*Getting identified at ages 11 to 13 means that trained experts can assess where a player is in her development pathway and help her and her family make decisions about the next steps in her basketball development. Identified players will receive a visit to their club or school by an Ontario Basketball technical staff member and they will be directed to programming that best fits their needs, which may include Centre for Performance and Ontario Summer Development Program. Players will then be monitored to track their progress.

Contact

Agnes Borg
Women’s Technical Lead