With selection decisions looming and standards set high from day one, Men’s Head Coach Adam Forde says the Gangurrus are building more than just a team at this week’s camp.
There were split eyebrows, nosebleeds and bodies hitting the floor before the first day of camp had even wrapped up.
For Forde, it was exactly the level of competitiveness he wanted to see.
“It was certainly physical,” he laughed.
“But that’s all part of it.”
The men opened camp with intensity from the outset as preparations ramp up towards a packed international calendar, including next month’s FIBA 3x3 World Cup in Singapore and August’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
Forde explained the group is not necessarily competing as one full squad, but rather within positional and role-based battles as coaches look to establish the right balance and chemistry moving forward.
“The idea of camp is to help establish that order and balance within the roster,” he said.
“We want players to have clarity around what their role is, what their job description is and who they’re competing against within that role.”
Forde said the coaching staff were also paying close attention to which athletes were fully buying into the standards and long-term direction of the program.
“This camp is another step in what the next two years looks like,” he said.
“But the most important thing right now is what the next two months looks like.”
Even after just one day, Forde admitted his thinking around the final squad was already evolving.
“If you asked me to pick the team right now, it’d be different to what I was thinking this morning,” he said.
“And it’ll probably be different again tomorrow morning.”
For all the pressure that comes with selection, Forde said camp environments remain one of his favourite parts of coaching.
“You get to compete, you get the emotional highs and lows that come with it and you get to do it with like-minded people.”
“When you’ve got everybody in different roles all chasing one goal, that’s the best part.”
