USA Basketball's Mini Youth Camp kicks off looking forward to 2020

COLORADO SPRINGS (USA) – Eighty-two of the best talents and youth prospects of the United States will attend the annual USA Basketball’s Mini Camp for 14 to 17-year old athletes, to prepare for the international commitments that await in 2020 for the U18 and U19 national teams.

The Colorado Springs Olympic and Paralympic Training Center will be the stage for the eleventh edition of the Mini Camp, held from October 11 to 13.

Experienced coach and Youth Sports Development Director for USA Basketball, Don Showalter, will oversee the meeting that, besides basketball, will offer educational contents to participants in subjects ranging NCAA eligibility, health, life skills and safety. Showalter has been active in several camps of the FIBA Americas Youth Development Program (YDP) in the past months.

The camp will feature 23 graduation candidates for 2020, 25 candidates for 2021, 29 for 2022 and other five young players that are scheduled to finish high school on 2023. Among these participants there are 20 international gold medalists and six players that are attending the USA Basketball national program for the first time.

Along Showalter, other 17 coaches with NBA, collegiate and high school experience will oversee the young players’ learning during the camp.

The Mini Camp will also include two workshops for the parents of the youth national team members as part of the parents’ education program that was launched last year by USA Basketball. They will be given the tools to help them support their children both in and out of the court. Some of the subjects that will be discussed are leadership development and player health, topics that will be worked on with resources like former NBA player Greg Oden, Youth Performance Director Ed Lacerte, and the orthopedic surgeon for the Minnesota Timberwolves and Mayo Clinic faculty member Diane Hahm.

WOMEN IN THE GAME CONFERENCE SPEAKER LIST REVEALED

USA Basketball also published their list of speakers for the Women in Basketball Conference 2019, which will take place on October 12 and 13 in Atlanta, Georgia.

The event will feature speakers like NBA referee Lauren Holtkamp, high executive officials in the NBA and WNBA like the Atlanta Hawks’ Narcis Alikhani, and NCAA First Division coaches like the University of Georgia’s Joni Taylor.

This is the third year this initiative takes place and intends to prepare young women and candidates to important positions within the women's sports industries to develop them as the next leaders in the field with the most advanced techniques and strategies needed to stand out in such a competitive market.

FIBA