Local Coaches Listen to Industry Experts at the Atlanta Hawks Coaches Clinic

On Tuesday in front of 300+ area basketball coaches, the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Academy hosted a free Coaches Clinic at State Farm Arena.

The evening commenced with Hawks Play-By-Play Announcer Bob Rathbun, networking reception and then welcome remarks.

There was a surprise informative 1-hour long Q&A session with Atlanta Hawks Head Coach Lloyd Pierce.

Along with sharing his experience as a NBA head coach, Pierce recalled his college days of playing with his former teammate Steve Nash at Santa Clara. The 300+ crowd listened to Coach Pierce share stories of his days coaching LeBron James. “I coached LeBron for three years, by far the smartest player I ever been around.” said Pierce.

After receiving extensive knowledge from Pierce, coaches gained knowledge about player development  from Atlanta Hawks Assistant Coach Matt Hill and Special Assistant to the Head Coach Nate Babcock.

Those in attendance also heard from Director of Coach Development for the USA Basketball Youth Division Don Showalter who discussed team skill development and ESPN National Recruiting Director for Basketball Paul Biancardi who spoke on coaching today’s player.

 The highlight of the night was when Atlanta Dream Head Coach Nicki Collen, demonstrated the basics of developing team man-to-man defense. “It was important for me to participate in this event because basketball only continues to grow if we all connect at a grassroots level,” said Collen.

When asked, “If there was any mentors or coaches that inspired her,” this is what Collen said:

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“Hawks’ Vice President of Basketball Development, Jon Babul played an essential role in coordinating the clinic. Over his 8 year tenure with the Hawks, Babul said the programs helped over 50,000 youth in the community.

“Providing coaching resources and professional development to hundreds of community coaches lays a foundation for positively impacting thousands of youth.” said Babul.

For more information about the Atlanta Hawks Basketball Academy, visit Hawks.com/BasketballAcademy.