SOFIA (FIBA Europe U14 Get-Together) - Over 80 Bulgarian coaches and more than 40 international delegates were in attendance at the 2016 addition of the FIBA Europe U14 Get-Together.

The Get-Together was this year hosted by the Bulgarian capital city from 21 to 22 October, followed by a meeting of the FIBA Europe Youth Commission on the following day, bringing the well-received weekend to a close.

On the Friday morning, a coaching clinic was held for Bulgarian youth coaches by recognised coaches in Chris Dial and Kostas Missas. This was followed in the afternoon by workshops run by Dial, Missas and Hristo Cenov. 

Head of National Federation and Sport/Coaching for Europe, Michael Schwarz was also on hand to help out on the Saturday, overseeing seminars in co-ordination with Missas and Dial.

"It was excellent to be able to witness, even over the course of the two days, the steep learning curve that the coaches underwent," observed Asterios Zois, President of the Youth Commission and Board Member. "It is not always possible for them to have access to mentors of such a high level and that is why we at FIBA provide these programmes. The commitment shown was excellent and I am sure their coaching careers will all be better off for it."

Another in attendance was FIBA Executive Director Europe, Kamil Novak. "It is excellent to see the number of attendees we have here this weekend," he reflected. "National member federation development is one of our four key pillars. Naturally, part of that is development of youth and that is why it is important that we have weekends such as this, where we can meet the people working at the grassroots level with youth and understand where they are coming from, in order to better assist them."

FIBA