Mackenzie Stewart - Building Better Basketball

Today is a bit of a special episode, Neil is joined by the 2023 Ford Aussie Hoops Coach of the year, Mackenzie Stewart from the Cockburn Cougars in Western Australia. I’m just going to include the section from the nomination form that got Mackenzie the award, and then you will hear my chat with her and hopefully you are as impressed as I am by a young lady with a very bright future in coaching basketball if she wants it. Mackenzie continues to focus on providing high quality programs that offer development of basketball skills, fundamentals and gameplay understanding for all junior skill levels. Meaning our programs meet both participation and performance needs for our community. She actively researches other sports introductory programs identifying new concepts, variety of coaching styles, different sporting contexts, training regiments, and social environments that may have a positive influence on our programs for our athletes. As Mackenzie continues her coaching pathway, she is invested in providing high quality leadership and mentoring to our developing coaches, ensuring opportunities for all and fosters a life-long support for the game. She is a harmoniously passionate coach, who ensures all participants experience happy emotions whenever she is involved in coaching the Aussie Hoops program. She has great satisfaction when she sees participants gradate from our Aussie Hoops programs into our Domestic Competition and other programs. As a dedicated volunteer, she aims to teach people how to play the game and compete. She recognizes there is a need to support other volunteers within our community with high quality, consistent, accessible coaching and upskilling. This is fundamental to the development of players, coaches, pathways in sport and of the game in Australia.