“Joerik is one of the most invested trainers I have ever had the pleasure of working with. His workouts are prefect, from challenging drills to studying film of an array of players. Joerik offers the best combination of physical and mental preparation that a player can ask for.
I recommend anyone who wants to elevate their game to work with Olivier Goetgeluck. He is an extremely kind, nonjudgmental and charismatic teacher. If you are struggling with trying to keep up to the pace that this world moves, Olivier will teach you multiple techniques on how to slow down just a little bit.”
Basketball Australia’s Peter Lonergan one week with our coaches and staff at our Elite Academy in Antwerp, Belgium. Here are key takeaways and observations from his visit.
Program ethos & approach
- Playing the “long game” – focus on long term athlete development through the journey rather than results driven
- Holistic approach to athlete and staff development
Teaching and development methods
- Focus on skill development through “Games Approach”
- Use of small-sided games and advantage/disadvantage breakdowns for teams/players of all ages
- Strong emphasis on developing creative skill – big focus on footwork, finishing skills and shooting
Athletic development
- Functional movement seen as a key element of player development, not a necessary “add on”
- Wide variety of influences and adaptation of different approaches to athletic development and wellbeing
- Strong links with the functional movement to the skill development
- Developing shooters – energy flow and linking to the kinetic chain
Coach development
- Ethos of having “transformational coaches” in the program, not “transactional coaches”
- Conversation and engagement a high priority across all aspects of the program
“Being able to join Joerik and Alex for a week in Belgium was a great experience. Not only did we get to experience the on court elements of what it takes to build a program parallel to ours in Europe, we also had multiple cultural experiences we wouldn’t have had otherwise. We met great people who were a part of their staff and felt very welcome and included in our time there. We went with the intention of doing some non traditional professional development (to us traditional means the NCCP program we have in Canada as our coachiing development model) and came out with much more than just professional development.
“In the past three years we had a lot of sessions from coaches from all over Europe and America but EA are different from everybody else. We learnt a lot, our coaches got new experiences and we were lucky to have these guys here.”
“We spent 9 days with Elite Athletes in July 2018. We spent time firstly with the academy, learning and helping in the training sessions and then in the Sleepover Camp, having responsibility leading stations as coaches. It has been an amazing experience, we have met so many great coaches and players from all the world. We have been able to talk 24/7 about basketball and see how this amazing project runs. The EA desire to “Trust The Process” is something we will always remember and we are so grateful for this experience, thank you very much.”
“On 1 month ‘All-Access’: The first thing I’ve noticed on the day I arrived at the facility, was a curious feeling of something different: different approaches and wider, integrated vision of basketball, human body development and development as human-beings:
Joerik is one of the most passionate and dedicated coaches I’ve ever met. He knows how to walk the talk, showing and explaining anything occurs in a basketball game from the basics to the tricks that every players needs to have in his arsenal. Precision and ability to show the most difficult moves breaking them up into effective progressions from the laptop analysis to the court. Always remembering there’s a certain line between ‘skills’ and ‘circus’.
Olivier’s warm ups and coordinative drills, his unique way to propose mediation as a powerful tool for every player and every human being…
A new perspective took shape: from ‘this has nothing in common with basketball’ to ‘this is something crucial to develop good basketball related abilities!’
I soaked up all the knowledge, different approaches and the wider, integrated vision of basketball, human body development and development as human-beings.
You may be attracted to one of these areas or fields of knowledge more than the others. In my specific case, Olivier’s work hit me deep.
Oh. And one thing you must do before walking out on your last day of the internship is to really understand the meaning of ‘The Process’; because you’ve just been a part of it! Enjoy!”