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How to lead a basketball team
USA Basketball - 5 Steps to Being a Great Leader
In addition to always finding new exercises, drills, and training techniques, a good portion of my professional development is focused on leadership. I have dozens and dozens of books, have binders full of notes and handouts, and read several weekly blogs all focused on the topic of effective leadership. I have been fascinated by the qualities that make great leaders for as long as I can remember. And continuing to improve my own leadership skill set is one of my top priorities.
I truly believe there is a tremendous lack of leadership in today's game; specifically with today's youth. Basketball is a team game that thrives on leadership; from both the coaches and players.
You can't underestimate the power of a great leader. Great leaders make the impossible seem possible.
Some folks think leaders are born; some think they are developed. I happen to think it is a little bit of both. Regardless, I am confident anyone can work to improve to their leadership skill set.![]()
The traits needed to be a successful leader apply to both players and coaches at every level. If the coach is the only leader in the gym; that team won't be very successful.
Here are five traits that contribute to effective leadership:
Learn From Your Mistakes
To be a good leader you have to take calculated risks and you will certainly make some mistakes along the way. Admit them. Learn from them. Don't repeat them! These mistakes can be in the classroom or on the court.
"Success comes from good decisions. Good decisions come from experience. Experience comes from bad decisions."
Lead by Example
The old adage "do as I say, not as I do" doesn't fly in today's world. If you expect it from the people you are leading, you have to expect it from yourself. You must hold yourself accountable before you can hold anyone else. If you expect your players or teammates to be on time, then you need to be on time. If you expect them to know every play in your playbook, then you need to know them too.
If you want to be a leader, people notice.
"Do what has to be done. Do it when it has to be done. Do it as well as you can. Do it this way all of the time."
Put Others' Needs First
Compassion and empathy are extremely important to quality leadership. It is impossible to be selfish and be an effective leader. If you are a player, are you playing for the scoreboard or the scorebook? Are you playing for the name on the front of the jersey or the back? If you are a coach, do you listen to your players' feedback and thoughts? Treat your teammates and players right and genuinely care about them.
"No one cares how much you know until they know how much you care."
Have Confidence
Your attitude is something you have complete control of and will influence everything you do in life. A positive attitude helps build confidence. You must have a strong self-worth and be confident in your abilities, without being arrogant or cocky. It sounds corny, but you have to feel good about yourself to be a good leader.
No one is going to follow someone who doesn't believe in themselves. Confidence comes from a sound work ethic and from being prepared. If you are going into a game and aren't confident you can win; it's because you know you didn't do what was necessary to prepare!
"Don't ever take a shot you aren't confident you are going to make."
Set a High Standard
If you do everything to the best of your ability, then you can expect it from those you lead. If you are always on time, always work hard, and always put your heart and soul into every practice, workout, and game--then you can expect your teammates and players to do the same. But you have to believe your teammates and players can meet this standard. A good leader will motivate those they are leading to do so. You want to be the type of leader who raises the level of everyone around you. Set the bar high and then lead them to it!
"It is a funny thing about life; if you refuse to accept anything but the best, you often get it.
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These are just some of the traits needed to be an effective leader. Whether you are the point guard on a high school basketball team or an assistant college coach, your ability to be an effective leader will dictate your success as well as your team's success.
How to Become a Team Captain
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By Daniel Benjamin
Basketball is a team game where player leadership is essential. Player leadership can be the difference from your team being good rather than mediocre.
You may be asking, “ Why do I need to be a leader, when my coach is an exceptional leader?”
The reason player leadership is so important is because athletes typically respond to peer motivation and peer pressure at a much deeper level than when the message is received from a coach.
Being a team captain is not easy but it is a very important part of the composition of your team.
Team captains are generally selected a couple of ways; either the coach chooses the team leaders or there is a team vote.
Either way it is a great honor to be named captain and it shows the team and coach have confidence in your leadership ability. Remember you don’t have to be the star of the team or starter to be a captain.
Here are 10 qualities you need to be an effective team captain.
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You must be self-motivated. Team captains are the heart and soul of a team, going all out every minute you are on the floor during games as well as in practice. You also should be the first one at practice and one of the lasts to leave.
Team captains firmly believe that the best interest of the team always comes first.
Team captains are bold, tenacious, fearless, prepared, fluid and enthusiastic.
Team leaders are great listeners and have a thirst to improve. When a coach tells you something, you should listen to the meaning of the words and not how it is said.
If a coach didn’t care, he wouldn’t bother to help you become the best player possible.
Team captains expect and demand the best from themselves and their teammates.
Know your role. A key part of being a leader is knowing your role on the team (scorer, rebounder, shutdown defender, sixth man, etc.). If you don’t know, ask.
Team captains choose their words carefully. The words of the team captain mean more than that of any other player.
Encourages teammates. A good leader keeps the team upbeat and positive. If a teammate is down, the captain picks the player’s spirits up.
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Understand that mistakes will be made. Team leaders can’t get down on themselves or others when mistakes because if you do others will follow. So, instead of chastising yourself or teammate learn from the mistake and move on. Simple statements like “I got you next time” or “Relax, I will get the ball again next time”, will do wonders for a player’s confidence after a mistake.
Team captains do not allow others to talk negatively about the team. You should take any insult about a team member as an insult against the whole team.
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Shakirova about the decision to lead the men's club, stereotypes and 3×3 basketball - RT in Russian This was stated in an interview with RT by Helen Shakirova, the first Russian woman to head the men's basketball club. According to her, the leadership of the Kazakh "Aktobe" moved away from stereotypical thinking when choosing a mentor. The Olympic champion said that she appreciates the players' professionalism and the desire to learn new things independently, and also admitted that she would love to talk with Becky Hammon.
In addition, Shakirova recalled how the silver medalists of the Tokyo Games, the sisters Frolkina and Yulia Kozik, convinced her that streetball was no less exciting than classic basketball.
— The news about your appointment to the Aktobe men's basketball club, one might say, blew up the media space. Are you surprised that this happened?
- No, absolutely. I know my capabilities well, so I took it as a new challenge. I have long had a dream to try my hand at men's basketball. I wanted to get to know him better.
— How did you get into Aktobe?
— After leaving Dynamo Kursk, she was open to offers, but I wanted the job not to remain just a job, but also catchy, forced to develop, move forward. Agent Igor Zaikin and I considered various offers, but decided to take a chance and try our hand at men's basketball. Negotiations were held, including with the clubs of the Russian Superleague, but the leadership of Aktobe turned out to be more persistent.
We quickly came to a common denominator. I was considered as a coach with Euroleague experience, having worked in the coaching staff of the national team, and also preparing a new generation of athletes who currently form the backbone of the national team. The most important thing in the dialogue process was to move away from the stereotype of a female coach, and I think we succeeded. After weighing all the pros and cons, we came to the conclusion that at this stage of the career the game is worth the candle. So I ended up in a Kazakh club. But this does not mean that I close the door to women's basketball, I will return with pleasure, especially if my new experience will be useful to someone.
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Basketball queen: how Russian Becky Hammon became the first woman in the world to lead a team in the NBA
Former Russian national basketball team point guard Becky Hammon became the first woman to lead an NBA team.
San Antonio assistant...
- Little is known about your new team in Russia...
- The club is based near the Russian border. I have not yet been to the city of Aktobe itself, the negotiations were conducted remotely, but I have an idea about it, since there is the Internet. After all, I myself come from Central Asia, so this region is close and familiar to me. This is not some shocking or negative factor. Initially, Igor announced the option of an ambitious club and was asked to call. During the conversation, I realized that our positions on many issues coincide and behind the team there are people who, like me, breathe basketball. I understand that these are completely different speeds, power struggles, decision-making, but I got the impression that we coincided in our aspirations.
— Have you met the players yet?
- Not yet. Negotiations were only with the management, the details of the contract, my relocation were discussed.
While I'm still in Russia, I'm going to fly out in a week. There will be time to meet and build relationships.
- When did you decide that you wanted to coach the men's team?
— I ended my playing career in 2009. After that, she came to Vidnoye, was an assistant coach for girls, then began to work with boys in parallel, went to the youth team, then switched completely to boys. I worked with them until 2013, until I received an offer to lead the youth team in Kursk. Then I decided to jump several steps at once and go there. When I studied boys and girls aged 13-14 at the same time, I realized that I was also interested in men's basketball. I constantly watched him, compared, and the idea to try was spinning in my head. Since everything worked out with the girls, a very long way was covered, there was no opportunity to realize their dream. And now it so happened that I brought the girls to the national team and Olympic medals and thought about what I want.
If there is a craving for something, then you should always try.
— Do you perceive what is happening as an experiment?
- No, this is another challenge in my coaching career. A new step, not some temporary solution.
- You mentioned that you are aware of the difference that you will face after the transition from women's basketball to men's.
- I talked a lot with colleagues who led various teams. I also talked a lot with my first coach, Sergei Ambartsumov, whom I often turn to for advice. Now there is an opportunity to experience for yourself how great this difference is, where the line passes.
- Becky Hammon, who once played in the Russian national team, has long been part of the coaching staff of the San Antonio Spurs and once even acted as head coach. Would you like to talk to her about this topic?
- It would be interesting. Maybe we will have such a conversation and in the future we will exchange experience, our ideas and subtleties.
I think she has something to share and something to tell, I would also share my thoughts. We could find a lot in common, help each other. Becky is a great fellow, it is very important that she is perceived in the club as a professional who has vast playing experience and can share it. I also have something to tell the younger generation, because at the club level I won almost everything.
— Aren't you afraid that it will be more difficult to work with men than with girls?
— On the set, I do not divide anyone by gender. There are only players and a coach, everything else lies behind the plane of professionalism. I am ready to help those with whom I go further, to reveal their strengths. This is my main task. I don’t even want to think about the fact that it’s easier with someone, but not with someone. This is not the most important thing when you work with a team. You need to build relationships with her regardless of gender.
— Why do you think there are so few female coaches in men's teams?
- I think this is a question for club leaders why they do not consider women as mentors.
Maybe not all women themselves want to go to work with men, because this is a different basketball and they are uncomfortable in this element.
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With character, but without gold: how the Russian 3 × 3 basketball teams won silver medals at the Tokyo Games
The Russian 3×3 basketball teams won silver medals at the Olympic Games in Tokyo. The women's team easily coped with China and...
— While working in Kursk, you coached Evgenia and Olga Frolkin and Yulia Kozik, who became silver medalists in 3×3 basketball at the Tokyo Olympics. Tell us how you became their coach?
— The next year after I joined the youth team of Dynamo, the Russian Basketball Federation introduced an age limit, and many of the girls stopped matching the age. Then the club's management decided to recruit young people for the future. We took a lot of players from the Gomelsky school, among them were the Frolkina sisters, and a year later Kozik also came.
At first we played in the youth team, entered the Super League, then under the name Inventa we played in the Premier League, taking fifth and seventh places. The girls grew up, they were becoming players. Literally two years ago they were invited to 3x3 basketball.
— How did you react to this?
- At first I was against it. I understood that this is a different sport, more contact, with a different surface. I was worried that the girls might get hurt. However, they made me look at the situation differently, convinced me of the correctness of the chosen path. After looking at how they return after the training camp, I realized that this is really their game. After the first tournament, they told how much they like the street version of the game. At the same time, the girls did not get into the national team in classic basketball, they were not even candidates, and then the opportunity arose to represent the country, although they were not yet 23 years old.
— Is it possible to say that you are also somehow involved in their silver, which made many fans happy?
— Yes, after all, the Frolkins and Kozik mostly play 5x5 basketball, they gain experience in it, played in the Euroleague and the FIBA Cup. We don't have a strong 3x3 championship to grow up in, only in the summer they play it. Therefore, we can say that I am related to the success of girls, to their upbringing.
— Do you like 3×3 basketball the most?
— At first I didn't take him very seriously, but in the summer I visited St. Petersburg, looked at training sessions, at games. Then it interested me, I liked it very much, my attitude changed dramatically.
- If this option existed when you were a player, would you try it?
- Now I think so.
- Many people compare street basketball with beach soccer and say that those who have not found themselves in the classic versions of the game achieve success in it.
— No, I don't agree with this question. There is a specificity here. Basketball players have real chances to play well in one discipline and another, and it's not as easy as it might seem.
- At one time, Red Bull hosted the King of the Rock tournament, where they played 1x1. Can this also be considered an independent sport?
— The more different competitions there are, the more it contributes to the popularization of basketball, both classical and any other. This allows players to find themselves if it didn’t work out in one form, but came out in another. Or it happens that a basketball player gets bored with the same thing and wants something new, why not play in a different way? The more players enjoy the game, the better.
— And if we consider 3×3 basketball from the point of view of a coach? Does it help to develop in the classics?
- We use some techniques when we practice interactions either in defense or in attack.
It's just that there is a specificity that you need to play on one ring, and not on two. Street basketball has a completely different movement dynamics, as well as a completely different endurance, the last two minutes in 3x3 basketball are a struggle of characters, and in sports, as you know, character and willpower play a decisive role.
History // Club // Basketball club "Samara" (Samara region)
The history of BC "Samara" begins in 1976
Then, on the initiative of the Honored Coach of the USSR Genrikh Primatov, the Stroitel team was created in Kuibyshev. Under the leadership of Primatov, she made her debut in the USSR championships.
1976
Performance in the Major League of the USSR Championship
In 1981, the team led by Primatov won the right to play in the Major League of the Union Championship, where its rivals were the strongest clubs in the country.
1981
From 1988 to 1994 "Stroitel" was headed by the honored coach of the USSR Sergei Zozulin
He managed to create a young and combat-ready team, which in the early 90s twice became the winner of the Russian championships and represented our region in European competitions.
1988-1994
Renaming the club to BC "Samara"
In 1995, the club was headed by Kamo Sergeevich Poghosyan. In the same year, Stroitel was renamed into BC Samara. In 1996, a well-known businessman Vladimir Avetisyan became the president of the club, and in the second half of 90's "Samara" returned to the leaders of Russian basketball. In 1997 and 1998 Samara won bronze medals in the Russian championship. The team regularly played in European competitions, making their debut in the Euroleague in 1998, the most prestigious club tournament in Europe.
1995
Since 2003 "Samara" has focused on the development of children's and youth basketball direction
The club's teams of different ages have repeatedly become regional champions and participated in the zonal and final stages of the championships of Russia, and the club's pupils were regularly invited to the national teams.
2003
The success of the youths of BC Samara in 2010-2012
In 2010, the pupils of BC Samara born in 1994 became the third in the championship of the Youth Basketball League (MBL).
In September 2011, the BC Samara team, born in 1995, played for the first time in the European Youth Basketball League (EYBL), having managed to win the bronze medals of the tournament in the spring of the following year. And in March 2012, the same team became the second in the Russian championship, losing in the final only to CSKA Moscow.
2010-2012
Return of professional status to the club
to July 2015 - "Samara-SGEU"), headed by Sergey Zozulin.
This team was supposed to become that part of the basketball pyramid of the Samara region, which would enable local pupils growing up from junior age to join serious adult basketball without leaving for other regions. Therefore, in the debut season, its composition was staffed exclusively by pupils of the club system and Samara sports schools.
2012
Start of performance in the Superleague
In the 2013/2014 season, Samara-SGEU played in the Superleague, the second division of Russian basketball according to the status, having managed to show a good result for a beginner - ninth place in the "regular" tournament .
The youth team of BC Samara also achieved impressive success that season: under the leadership of the Honored Master of Sports, Vice World Champion Igor Grachev (who used to play in Stroitel), it became the silver medalist of the Children and Youth Basketball League (CYBL) championship ) and won EYBL bronze medals.
2013/2014
The club took part in all tournaments held under the auspices of the RSE
not the only club in Russia that took part in all tournaments held under the auspices of the RSE: both children's, youth, youth, and professional teams.
The club has built a real pyramid, giving local players the opportunity to progressively develop and reach a new level. The basis of this pyramid is made up of children's and youth groups, in which about a hundred people are engaged in total.
Victory in the Super League regular season
The "Final Eight" CYBL was held in April 2015 in Samara and our team showed a decent result, finishing the season in fifth place.
The youth team of BC "Samara", which proved itself a year before, played already at the "adult" level, making its debut in the Higher League of the national championship, where it finished twelfth (with twenty participants).
And the top of the club pyramid is the Samara-SGEU Superleague team, which is still based on Samara pupils. In the 2014/2015 season, Samara-SGEU, having shown a bright and spectacular game, became the winner of the regular championship of the Superleague, and according to the results of the playoffs, finished the season in fifth place.
2014/2015
Samara made it to the Final Four of the Russian Cup
The 2015/2016 season was also rich and memorable. The youth team of BC "Samara", "Samara-SDYUSSHOR-1", performed in the championship of CYBL. According to the results of the Final Eight, the team led by coaches Dmitry Pivtsaikin and Alexei Soldatenkov became the bronze medalist of the championship, losing only to Khimki and CSKA.
The youth team of BC Samara, Samara-SGEU, made its debut in the VTB United Youth League in the 2015/2016 season and did not get lost in the company of more experienced rivals, becoming the winner of the regular championship. The Final Eight of the VTB United Youth League was held in Samara for the first time. His organization received the highest rating from the leadership of the VTB United League. According to the results of the "Final Eight" "Samara-SGEU" became the fourth.
The club's main team, Samara, played in the Superleague-1 Championship (the First Division of the Superleague is the main tournament for men's teams held by the Russian Basketball Federation). According to the results of the regular season, "Samara" took the fifth place in the table. In the playoffs, Samara managed to get into the semi-finals, according to the results of which they finished the championship in fourth place. In addition, "Samara", also for the first time in recent history, managed to get into the "Final Four" of the Cup of Russia.
2015/2016
Victory in the RSE Cup
The 2016/2017 season brought new bright emotions.
We were pleased, first of all, by junior and youth teams. Pupils of coach Igor Talskikh became the winners of the EYBL U17 championship. For the second year in a row, the team of BC Samara managed to win medals in the CYBL championship - this time silver medals, only losing to CSKA in the final. Moreover, the "Final Eight" CYBL was again held in Samara and became a real celebration of basketball. Samara-2 also finished the season among the winners of the VTB United Youth League: in comparison with the previous season, it also took a step forward, winning the bronze.
Samara, though left without medals in the Superleague championship and the Cup of Russia, managed to please its fans at the very end of the season, becoming the winner of the RSE Cup for the first time.
At the end of the season, several BC Samara players were included in the lists of candidates for various Russian national teams to prepare for the European Championships.
Dmitry Khaldeev and Dmitry Gusenkov played at the U18 European Championship. The head of the Russian national team under 18 was the coach of BC Samara Igor Grachev. And Dmitry Pivtsaikin was a member of the coaching staff of the Russian national team at the U16 European Championship.
2016/2017
Superleague medals won for the first time in recent history
For the 2017/2018 season, BC Samara has noticeably upgraded. Sergei Zozulin, who led the club's main team since 2012, left his post. At the same time, Sergey Alexandrovich continued to work in the structure of the club: he became the head coach of the club, chairman of the Coaching Council of BC Samara and began to coordinate the work of all departments. Igor Grachev was appointed head coach of Samara. The youth team of BC Samara was headed by Dmitry Pivtsaikin. The CYBL team was led by Ilya Loktionov. All these rearrangements did not affect the main thing: the teams of our club continued to play brilliantly, giving the fans a lot of unforgettable emotions.
The young pupils of the club made us happy again. Boys team born in 2001 reached the final tournament of the championship of Russia, eventually becoming the fifth. And in the Youth League championship, the Samara team made it to the Final Eight for the seventh time in a row, finishing the season in sixth place.
The season was also special for the youth team. Having confidently passed the regular championship of the VTB United Youth League, Samara took the second place according to its results. According to a good tradition, the Final Eight was held in our city and again turned into a real basketball holiday. This time the Samarans managed to reach the final and only in the last moments lost the championship title to the team of CSKA Moscow.
No less impressive was the performance of the club's main team. Having issued a series of 17 victories in a row during the season, Samara confidently won the regular Superleague championship. And then powerfully went through the first two rounds of the playoffs.
The final against Spartak-Primorye, full of drama and incredible plot twists, has become an adornment of the entire Russian basketball season. Everything was decided in the last, fifth match of the series, which caused an incredible stir and a full house in the MTL Arena. Unfortunately, "Samara" lost - nevertheless, for the first time in recent history, won Superleague medals.
At the end of the season, three players of BC Samara received an invitation to the Russian youth team to prepare for the U20 European Championship: Dmitry Khaldeev, Philipp Stoyko and Agasiy Tonoyan.
2017/2018
Super League Champions!
The 2018/2019 season has become truly historic for the club! The men's team managed to take another, so difficult, step forward - and finally won the "gold" of the Super League!
"Samara" evenly, without failures, performed in the regular season, becoming the second according to its results. But in the playoffs, the team of Igor Grachev gained cruising speed, leaving no chance for the opponents either in the quarterfinals (3:1 with Ural), or in the semifinals (3:0 with Temp-SUMZ-UMMC), or in the main series season (3:0 with St.
Petersburg "Spartak"). A nice bonus was the MVP title of the season, which was received by team captain Anton Glazunov. Vladimir Pichkurov also entered the symbolic five according to the Russian Basketball Federation.
Our junior team didn't let us down either. Pupils of Dmitry Pivtsaikin, in fierce competition with the teams of the leading clubs of the country, took another set of medals from the VTB United Youth League (this time bronze). The DUBL team made it to its Final Eight again.
An indicator of the effectiveness of the club system was the award from the Russian Basketball Federation for the most effective club "pyramid" and the involvement of several representatives of Samara in various reserve teams of Russia at once.
Dmitry Khaldeev as a member of the Russian U20 team took part in the European Championship. Semyon Shevkoplyas was included in the extended list of the Russian U19 team in preparation for the World Cup. Danila Chikarev, as part of the Russian U18 team, played first at the 3x3 Basketball World Cup (the team reached the semi-finals), and then at the U18 European Championship, and also received a call-up to the national team to prepare for the 3x3 Basketball European Cup.
The head coach of the youth team of BC Samara Dmitry Pivtsaikin was a member of the coaching staff of the Russian U18 team at the European Championship.
2018/2019
Debut of the women's team and triumph in the Russian Cup!
The 2019/2020 season for the club, as well as for the entire sports world, turned out to be unusual and crumpled: in March 2020, due to the coronavirus epidemic that swept the world, all basketball and sports events in general were suspended, and the season was completed ahead of schedule. Nevertheless, our teams managed to please their fans.
The summer of 2019 has already become historic, when it was decided to creation of a women's team in the structure of BC Samara. Under the guidance of the famous Samara specialist Viktor Kurilchuk, she made her debut in Superleague-2 - and immediately confidently won the regular season, and then reached the playoff final. The final was not played due to the pandemic, but by the decision of the Executive Committee of the RSE Samara was classified in first place in the final Superleague-2 rating.
Our team's defender Irina Kiseleva was named MVP of the tournament, and Samara captain Yana Mitrofanova was named the best forward of the championship.
The development of the club structure continued with the creation of 3x3 basketball teams - first for men and then for women. Staffed with pupils of local basketball, they took an active part in the Russian 3x3 basketball championship.
Youth and junior teams played the season at the usual high level. Boys for the eighth time in a row won the right to play in the "Final Eight" of the Youth League Championship. And the youth team throughout the season remained among the leaders of the VTB United Youth League, guaranteeing itself participation in the Final Eight of the tournament in advance.
Finally, the men's team did not slow down even after the championship in Superleague-1. In the championship, at the time of the suspension of the tournament, she shared the first place in the table with Spartak-Primorye (four rounds remained until the end of the regular season).
Summing up the season, the RFB recognized Vladimir Pichkurov as the Superleague-1 MVP, and team captain Anton Glazunov was included in the symbolic five of the championship.
And in March for the first time in its history Samara won the Cup of Russia . This, by the way, turned out to be the only tournament (along with the Women's Cup) held on time and without any restrictions associated with the epidemic. The decisive match of the Cup took place in Samara on March 12 and caused great excitement among basketball fans, becoming a real sports holiday. Vladimir Pichkurov was named MVP of the Cup, while Anton Glazunov and Maxim Dybovsky entered the symbolic five of the tournament.
The club was once again marked with the award from the RFB , which expressed “Special gratitude to Samara for the effective club basketball development system and promotion of the club in social networks”.
2019/2020
New challenges and new victories
The 2020/2021 season was no less successful for the club: almost all of our teams were pleased with victories.
This season was truly breakthrough for 3x3 basketball teams . The guys became the winners of one of the qualifying rounds and managed to get into the main tournament of the European United League 3x3, where the strongest teams of the continent became their rivals. The performance in the Russian Championship turned out to be bright, but, unfortunately, uneven: the men's team made it to the final round of the championship, but was left without medals. But the girls, having simultaneously won several preliminary stages (one of them was held in Samara, becoming the first tournament of this status in our city - and traditionally held at the highest organizational level), eventually won the silver medal. And the end of the season turned out to be completely “golden”: the Samara women's team (Olesya Kosyakova, Victoria Trofimova, Maria Chernova and Anastasia Pizhenko) became the winner of the U23 Russian Championship, and Victoria Trofimova was recognized as the MVP of the tournament.
In "classic" basketball , the women's team debuted in Superleague-1 and did not get lost at the new level. Having passed the whole season among the leaders of the championship, the girls under the leadership of Alexander Garshin made it to the Final Four. The RFB gave Samara the right to hold the decisive stage of the championship - and again our club coped with this important task perfectly, having received many grateful reviews. Only in the final match "Samara" lost to the best team of the Superleague-1 of recent years, "Rostov-Don-Southern Federal University", having won silver medals. Two representatives of our team entered the symbolic five of the championship at once: Ksenia Kunakova and Yulia Poluyanova.
A men's team confirmed the title of the best in Superleague-1 . If in the Russian Cup Samara stumbled in the most offensive way at the semi-final stage (only 1 point difference in two matches with Temp-SUMZ-UMMC), content this time with bronze, then in the championship Igor Grachev's team looked more than confidently.
In the playoffs, Samara, however, made the fans worried: both in the semi-final with the capital's Runa and in the final with the Yekaterinburg Uralmash, the series dragged on for five matches - but in the decisive matches held at the MTL Arena, chances no more rivals. The second championship in a row is a serious success and an indicator of the stable development of the club. Individual awards were a nice bonus: Vladimir Pichkurov was included in the symbolic five of the championship, and Anton Glazunov was recognized as Superleague-1 MVP.
But for many players and coaches of our club the season did not end even in the summer, it just continued within the framework of different national teams . Sofya Trachuk and Daria Godyaeva, who played for Samara in the junior junior league among girls, received an invitation to the Russian U16 team (Godyaeva eventually played in the Eurochallenger as part of the national team), Danila Chikarev - to the U20 team, whose coaching staff included the mentor of the youth team "Samara" Dmitry Pivtsaikin.
One of the leaders of our 3x3 basketball team, Mikhail Yermilov, as part of the Russian U23 team, became the bronze medalist of the League of Nations, and girls Olesya Kosyakova, Victoria Trofimova and Anastasia Pizhenko also played at one of the stages of the League of Nations.
2020/2021
Two Russian Cups and a Super Cup to boot!
The season-2021/2022 also turned out to be saturated.
One of its main events was the long-awaited "house warming" , which our men's and women's teams celebrated in March 2022: they played the end of the season on the floor of the Sports Palace put into operation after reconstruction.
And we have already managed to get a bright victory on the new site: the men's team won the Russian Cup for the second time in three years , having outplayed Temp-SUMZ-UMMC in a dramatic two-match confrontation. Maxim Sheleketo, the author of the "golden" shot, was named MVP of the Cup, Vladimir Pichkurov and Maxim Dybovsky were included in the symbolic five of the tournament.
But in the championship, Samara for the first time in several years was left without medals, finishing only fourth. Defender Artem Isakov, who joined the team during the season, was included in the symbolic five of Superleague-1.
It was not an easy season and for the women's Samara, which debuted in the Premier League . She began the season under the guidance of one of the most experienced coaches in the country, Dmitry Donskov (who, like Igor Grachev and Alexander Garshin, played as a player for Samara in the Euroleague) and until the last claimed a ticket to the playoffs, but the team did not Literally one victory was enough to get into the top eight. Two months before the end of the championship, Alexander Garshin returned to the head coach's place - and the girls had a great time in the final part of the season, winning all six matches of the tournament in 9-12th places.
In basketball 3x3 the main success was once again associated with the women's team.
In October 2021, Kristina Evseycheva, Yana Mitrofanova, Victoria Trofimova and Anastasia Pizhenko won the Russian Cup, in December they also won the first Russian Super Cup, and Kristina Evseycheva was recognized as the MVP of both tournaments. In the course of the Russian regular championship (one of the tandems again took place in Samara), our girls won several stages - and following the results of the final tournament, Kristina Evseycheva, Yana Mitrofanova, Maria Chernova and Vlada Safonova won bronze medals. For the second season in a row, the men's team tried their hand at the United League of Europe 3x3, and in the Russian Championship they managed to improve their previous result, finishing the final tournament in sixth place.
In the 2021/2022 season, a new page was written in the history of the “relationships” between the club and the Russian national team : in November 2021, Samara coach Alexander Porinkevich joined the coaching staff of the country's men's national team.
