Academy Overview

The BSI Basketball Academy develops talented and dedicated high school student-athletes through a full-time training programme, which sees players progress from basic individual fundamentals, to learning under pressure situations and competitive match and team experience, all whilst receiving an internationally accredited high school qualifciation.

The full-time program consist of daily academics in our International Study Centre, with the choice of a Cambridge or GED qualification, coupled with our high performance basketball schedule.  The program includes on-court training sessions 5 times a week, as part of the pre-season preparation, with in-season dependent on match schedule and tournaments.

Student-athletes also receive 3 x gym sessions per week to increase speed, vertical leap, mobility and overall physical strength.  Weekly mental training sessions are also included.

Schedule

The high performance basketball schedule takes our players through:

• Ball-handling skills
  • Hand-eye coordination
  • Dribbling
  • Passing & catching – stationary and in motion
• Individual & Team positional and tactical play from:
• Technical strategy and approach
• Shooting
• Individual Defense
• Team Defense – zone (2-1-2, 1-3-1, 2-3, box-on-1); man-to-man; man-zone
• Team & Individual Offense:
  • Triple Threat
  • Specialized areas –
    • post play
    • shooting guard moves,

• Sealing the defense,
• breaking a trap

• 1-on-1; 2-on-2; 3-on-3 & 5-on-5
• Boxing out
• Full court practice drills – running the fast break
• Full court offense
• Full court defence – the full court press
• Off the ball movement
• Screening – on & off the ball

Fitness and Conditioning

The program develops individual strength and training required for basketball, from on-court footwork and stamina sessions, to gym plyometrics, with recovery, off-season sessions and injury prevention and rehabilitation, to ensure long-term player development.

Additional features of the program:

Court vision, team awareness & spacing

Visualisation and mental sessions

Rules of basketball - theoretical and practical

Matches (Friendly, League (Schools and Clubs), Tournaments, Touring

Opportunity for Provincial try-outs and potentially leading to National colours

Quarterly reports and end of year recognition for outstanding achievers

Pathways to study and play at college in USA after matriculation.

Help players to engage, learn, and perform to the best of their abilities through players choosing their own individual objectives for the session/ season ahead.

ALL of the above are executed under the values and tenets of the Balderstone Sports Institute which are:

Commitment, Excellence, Continual Growth, Positive Energy and Family

Full-Time Junior Basketball Academy (including schooling)

A full-time junior basketball program for talented and competitive junior players who are serious about reaching their potential.  Our student-athletes combine intensive high-performance basketball training with schooling for Grades 8 to 12.  Learners study the international Cambridge system and/or American GED curriculum (available for higher grades) in the BSI International Study Centre in Linksfield.  Students are transported safely between venues.

Our age-specific training focuses on technical, tactical, mental and physical training with a highly experienced coaching team.

Our academic system is modern and flexible, utilizing an online learner management system with classroom assistance and private tutoring on-call.

This unique approach provides excellent individualised academic support, whilst giving young basketball players flexibility to adapt their study time around their tournament schedule. This style of education is becoming more popular for talented young sports athletes. Each student works at their own pace, based on a weekly work plan in each subject.

The BSI International Study Centre is fully supervised, and each student is allocated an Educator to manage their progress. This takes the stress out of the distance learning model for parents.

Download a Junior Basketball Academy Brochure

Download the 2025 Junior Basketball Academy Fee Document

Download a Junior Basketball Academy Application Form

Download the 2025 yearly calendar

Boarding is available for boys aged 16 and above. Girls and younger aged boys our housed with host families.