National Team Head Coach Scott Flemming leaves Indian basketball with an unmatched legacy

At the FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan last year, India's Men's national basketball team faced an unexpected distraction. At the very last minute, FIBA decided to impose their rudimentary 'No Headgear' rule, forcing India's Sikh players - Amrit Pal Singh and Amjyot Singh - to play without their turbans before their first game against Japan. Amrit Pal and Amjyot were in a fix: the frontcourt combo were (and still are) the heart and soul of the national team, but playing without a turban would have been an insult to their religious customs. Scott Flemming - the head coach of Team India - clashed with the tournament's organizers in behalf of his players, but to no avail. Understanding completely the dilemma that the two young stars faced, Flemming allowed them to opt out from the game, putting no pressure on the two to bow down to FIBA's ruling. Without them, India would have stood no chance at sniffing any victories at the tournament, but if they played, the two players would be making important personal sacrifices.

Despite their outrage, Amrit Pal and Amjyot made that sacrifice and decided to play. By the time the tournament ended, it became one of the most successful performances by Indian Men abroad in recent decades. The two big men played a major role in India's success, and they did it - regrettably - without their turbans. They did it for their country, their teammates, and as they told me later, for their coach. It was a rare occasion in Indian basketball where a coach had been able to create a true family atmosphere in the national team system. Not even the needless FIBA distraction could break their spirit, and it's a spirit that Flemming played a major role in cultivating.

India lost that game to Japan, but a day later, scored their biggest-ever international win, the 'Wonder of Wuhan', by defeating hosts and Asian giants China. Although India only finished 7th eventually at the tournament, they gave a tough fight to FIBA Asia Championship finalists Iran and Philippines as well. Flemming's squad had fired warning shots to the rest of the continent that the sleeping giant was finally ready to awaken.

And yet, despite the on-court success, it was the off-court influence of Flemming on Team India that truly struck me. He had coached a group of individuals to become a strong unit, and that off-court coaching naturally translated to improved performances on-court. Over the last two and a half years, Flemming has helped the national team hold their heads up higher with respectable performances at the FIBA Asia Championship, the Lusofonia Games, the FIBA Asia Cup, the Asian Games, and more, and play together with pride. In a country with fleeting basketball success where foreign coaches had been hired and dropped like flies, Flemming had lasted the test of time and the challenges of a broken system to become arguably India's greatest international coach ever.

But all good things must come to an end, and today, they finally have. Flemming has resigned from his job in India and the Americna coach will be headed back to his homeland leaving behind an unmatched legacy in Indian basketball.  The Northwest Nazarene University (NNU) in Idaho announced that Flemming has signed on as Head Coach of the Crusaders (NCAA Division II) starting this season.

"I can’t imagine my life without India," Flemming told me in an e-mail, "I would do it all over again. To be honest, it has been very challenging at times but also extremely rewarding. I have really enjoyed working with all the different age groups in our national camps as well as the independent camps and clinics I have done. I have made so many good friends in the India basketball family. I really appreciate how the players accepted me on our national team with all my new ideas and terminology. I have become close with many of them and that is one of the reasons I do what I do. We really grew as a team and they are like family to me. I am proud of the progress we have made and I am trusting that this can be built upon for greater days ahead."

"I want to thank Basketball Federation of India (BFI) and IMG-Reliance for giving me this opportunity," he added, "I hope to stay connected in some role and maybe even come back in a few years and coach the team on a short-term assignment if they would want me to. Everyone has been so kind to Chawn and I and it has changed us for the better. I will be following the teams through the tournaments and pulling for them even in the United States. I wish India basketball only the very best for the days ahead. GO INDIA!"

Flemming had been hired by the BFI in September 2012 after 30 years of coaching experience in the USA, including serving as an assistant coach with the NBDL squad Texas Legends. In India, beyond his international influence, Flemming also served as an adviser to coaches domestically, helping to further cultivate and grow basketball at the grassroots level in India. He took part in various Coaches Coaching programmes around the country, launched the Indian Basketball Coaches Network (IBCN), and made basketball player development videos to reach out to the legions of hoop hopefuls in India. He and his wife Chawn forged valuable relationships with coaches and players in India and he went out of his way to have honest and open communication through interviews, his blog, and social media with the Indian fans and media. Flemming was the first-ever guest when Kaushik Lakshman and I launched the Hoopdarshan podcast on Indian basketball in late March.

His departure leaves a major leadership void atop the national programme and adds another dent to India's future hopes internationally. A few weeks ago, it was announced that the BFI had not picked up on the contract extensions of India's Women's national team coach Francisco Garcia and Strength and Conditioning Coach Tommy Heffelfinger. In a few months, India's Men and Women will be taking part in separate FIBA Asia Championships, the biggest international tournament for Indian basketball teams. The timing for being without expert coaches who had built real continuity within the system couldn't be any worse. For every step forward, Indian basketball seems to be taking two steps back.

Several of India's top players were obviously saddened to see him go. "It's a big loss for the Indian national team," said international guard and former captain Vishesh Bhriguvanshi, "Flemming made good and positive results to team. I will only wish him luck that wherever he goes, he has a great life. And a big thank you!"

"It's very disappointing to hear that Flemming resigned as our coach," said India's starting point guard Joginder Singh, "We love to work with him. He is a great coach. I wish him luck for the future and send him a big thank you."

No matter where his career takes him, Coach Flemming will always have the love and support from the family he leaves behind in India. Sometimes, basketball achievement can be only about the bottom lines, the 'W's and the 'L's, but in Flemming's case, one can put no value on the achievements he made in raising the spirit and belief of the national team players. Moments like 'turban-gate' in Wuhan - where India managed to succeed despite the insult to the star players' beliefs - prove that a head coach's job extends far beyond 28x15 meter square dimensions of a basketball court. For Flemming, raising Indian basketball from the grassroots and school level to the coaches and up to the national team was all part of the same job: and he did it all on and off the court. In behalf of the Indian hoops family, I wish him the best for all his future endevours!

Contracts of India's Foreign basketball coaches Francisco Garcia and Tommy Heffelfinger not extended

While the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) attempts to juggle controversies and power struggles threatening to tear apart the nation's governing and controlling body of basketball from within, budgeting issues and internal changes of philosophy have struck another blow to the game: two foreign coaches - Women's National Team Head Coach Francisco Garcia and Strength and Conditioning Coach Tommy Heffelfinger - did not receive extensions to their contracts with the BFI and will end their tenure with India Basketball by the end of May.

The decisions to not extend the contracts of Garcia and Heffelfinger were taken by the contingent of the BFI currently being led by Poonam Mahajan and Roopam Sharma. The federation is currently facing a fracture in its top structure: two opposing executive committees have chosen two different presidents/secretaries from two different meetings to form the leadership group. Sources inside the BFI have said that the Mahajan/Sharma contingent made the decision to discontinue the coaches' contracts because they are short on money (since the bank accounts are controlled by the competing Govindraj team) and felt uncomfortable about disagreements that the staff members had with the leadership and direction of the Mahajan/Sharma team.

Garcia, a Spaniard, was hired by the BFI two years ago to helm India's Senior Women's team. Garcia enjoyed a relatively successful two year stretch, famously helping India finish at a best-ever fifth-place at the 2013 FIBA Asia Championship and helping a younger side to a bronze medal at the 2014 Lusofonia Games. Later in 2014, Garcia also coached the team to a 6th place finish at the Asian Games in Incheon. He has been active in taking his knowledge to the grassroots level, coaching players and other coaches at various events around the country over the last few years.

"The best thing was that we created a system of play," Garcia told me as he looked back to his achievements with Team India over the past two years, "When I first came here, the players were used to another kind of system. Now, players understand the game lot better. To reach that point is the best achievement for a coach. As a team obviously to win our first-ever game in FIBA ABC's Pool A and finishing 5th (best in Indian basketball history), ranking India 5th in Asia (best in history) have been huge. We got bronze medal at Lusofonia games with an under-22 team and we competed very well at Asían Games without three key players from the ABC."

Garcia added that his best memory in India, no doubt, was working with the players. "They were always open to new things and always tried their best, even in the bad days," he said.

There seems to be no clear plan of who will carry on the reigns of the Women's national team system after Garcia leaves. Starting at the end of August this year, the FIBA Asia Championship for Women - the most important international tournament for Indian basketball - will tip off in Wuhan (China). India will lose their Head Coach only a few months before this crucial tournament and thus, lose the continuity that he had built within.

As usual, there is a good chance that the Women's team will not receive the international exposure and experience needed to prepare for this tournament. "Main thing lacking is the competition of the players throughout the year," Garcia said, "There is no professional league and little international exposure."

"Additionally, our players have to strengthen their inside game to show up to the next level."

Garcia has received offers from another national teal in Asia and a team in Iceland. "I don't know, life is unpredictable," he said, "All can change in seconds."

Seeing another change at the top ultimately hurts the national team players the most, who have lacked continuity in leadership. Ever since the IMG Reliance deal with the BFI, the National Women's team has had three different foreign coaches in less than five years: Tamika Raymond, Pete Gaudet, and Francisco Garcia. With Garcia's contract expiring, will there be a fourth one in stow soon? Garcia's two years have brought some improvements in the team's performances, but more importantly, created a structure that was pointing towards steady improvement for the future, too. With a change in coaching, there will be a change in system, and thus, another hiccup in the development of basketball.

Strength and Conditioning Coach Tommy Heffelfinger, who arrived from the USA to build Indian basketball's S&C programme last year, had a two year contract with an option at the end of his first year. The BFI was to conduct a formal review of his work and determine if they would like to keep him for second year. The BFI claim they did the formal review, but an inside source told me that nobody from their leadership (CEO or Deputy CEO) spoke to Heffelfinger for three months prior to his termination or answered any emails he sent for same time. His first year ends 31 May, 2015.

Heffelfinger has shown commitment to making Indian basketball players stronger, fitter, and better versed in the appropriate diet and training regimes required for excelling in international basketball. Strength and conditioning has long been a problem for India compared to top Asian teams. Getting rid of Heffelfinger will further set India back in this regard.

India's Men's team Head Coach Scott Flemming - who joined me a few weeks ago for a conversation on the inaugural episode of the Hoopdarshan podcast - is continuing with his position for the foreseeable future.

2014 Indian School/College Basketball League National Finals begin in New Delhi

Whatever your city, your school, your college, or your favourite player, there is sure to be enough drama for the basketball fan in New Delhi over the next week. It took three months of action in 24 cities, bringing together over 13,000 players from over 1100 institutions, and now, finally, the Finals are here. The national finals of the expanded Indian School Basketball League (ISBL) and Indian College Basketball League (ICBL) - organized by the Basketball Federation of India and IMG Reliance - tipped off at the Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi on Monday, December 15. 40 school and college teams in the men's and women's divisions from 10 cities around India are battling for the ultimate honours: becoming national ISBL/ICBL champions after the finals on December 21.

The revamped BFI-IMG Reliance ISBL/ICBL tipped off in late September this year with ambitious expansion to various new cities and the involvement of many new schools and colleges in the programme this year. The tournament featured teams two different formats for each division in the ISBL and ICBL: the Premier League and the Challenger League.

Each of the winners of the Premier League cities are now in New Delhi vying for the national crown, while the Challenger League winners will be getting a chance to win promotion into the upper league. Four categories of national champions will be crowned from the Premier League cities: Men’s National College Champion, Women’s National College Champion, Boy’s National School Champion, and Girl’s National School Champion.

“These leagues have given a much needed platform for players to garner attention from scouts and coaches and that bodes well for students who aspire to make a career in basketball,” said BFI's CEO Roopam Sharma in a report to Ekalavyas.com. “This is the first and most important step in creating a sustainable basketball ecosystem that will nurture and develop talent across India and based out on the turnout at the city levels, I except an exciting and competitive Finals that will help further promote the game. My best wishes to all the national finalists and I hope all the participating teams in both the leagues enjoy themselves and learn more about the game, so they come back stronger next season.”

The total prize money for all the categories is valued at Rs. 43 lakhs. Winnings teams will also be rewarded with court refurbishments at the school or college. Runners-ups will also get support on improving basketball infrastructure in their educational institutions.

“The Indian School Basketball League and Indian College Basketball League are the first national multi-city, pan-India events of their kind and represent a key milestone in the Basketball Federation of India and IMG Reliance partnership," said Ashu Jindal, the CEO of IMG Reliance, "Together, for the past four years, we have been working to grow the sport of basketball and improve the technical quality of play in India; through these leagues, youngsters in over 22 cities have been exposed high quality, structured league competition for the first time. The response we have gotten from schools and colleges is phenomenal, this year an unprecedented 13000 young cagers have participated in the three month leagues and we look forward to reaching out to more players every year."

Apart from the on-court competition, attending players and coaches will also get a chance to participate in clinics conducted by India's National Senior Men's Coach Scott Flemming and National Strength and Conditioning Coach Tommy Heffelfinger.

There will also be the first-ever national Skills Challenge, which will include a dunk contest, three-point contest, and more.

The Fit & the Furious

India’s Strength & Conditioning Coach Tommy Heffelfinger discusses the importance of keeping Indian basketball players healthy.

This article was first published in my column for Ekalavyas.com on September 8, 2014. Click here to read the original post.

Tommy Heffelfinger gets the Indian Women's squad psyched up for a
strength and conditioning workout. Photo: Rajesh Chavan

As the final seconds ticked away in India’s Asian Games contest in Incheon (Korea) against the Philippines and an Indian loss was all but ensured, Indian swingman Pratham Singh suffered a nasty fall, hurting both his head and his back. As Pratham writhed in pain on court, a hush fell in the arena, and his teammates momentarily ignored the result to focus on their hurting teammate. Pratham was stretchered off court, and for the next few hours, the Indian basketball team, coaches, as well as fans held their breath and hoped for some good news from the medical team.

Over four and half thousand kilometers away from Incheon, India’s Strength & Conditioning Coach Tommy Heffelfinger followed the game in New Delhi with bated breath, too. Since his appointment by the Basketball Federation of India (BFI) three months ago, Heffelfinger has worked closely with Pratham Singh and several others of India’s top players – both at the Senior and under-18 level in both genders – to ensure that serious injuries are reduced as much as possible.

“When injuries go down, the performances go up,” he stated, something that may sound obvious but is always easier said than done. For an individual like Pratham – a top-six rotation player for India’s Senior Men’s national basketball team – his fitness is directly related to his team’s performance.

Later that day, some good news trickled out of the Indian camp in Incheon back to Delhi: Pratham went through some tests on his back and leg, revealing no serious injuries. He was rested for the next day against Iran, but for the big picture, Heffelfinger let out a sigh of relief.

Hailing from Ann Arbor in Michigan, USA, sports took Heffelfinger across the pond to England for a decade, where he worked with national players from the British Basketball Team, football players of the English Premier League club West Ham United, and rugby players, too. Choosing to be nearer to his wife – who is from Nepal – Heffelfinger jumped at the opportunity of joining the BFI’s Strength & Conditioning team, taking over a position left vacant since the previous Coach – Zak Penwell – finished his tenure. Familiar with India and South Asia in the past, Heffelfinger skipped over the culture shock that most foreign coaches suffer in their initial stages of their visit.

“I felt like I was pretty much ready for anything when I got here,” he said when I met him in New Delhi in mid-September.

What his previous visits wouldn’t have prepared him for would’ve been the basketball. As his predecessor Penwell discovered during his two years in India, the exercise, diet, and fitness regimes of Indian basketball players were uniquely specific and, in some ways, separate from the athletes they would’ve trained before.

“In India, first of all the dietary restrictions are a big deal,” Heffelfinger said, “And this is something to which we are constantly adjusting on camp. Beyond that, when it comes to dealing with player workouts, I’ve learnt how difficult it is for our national team players to stick to their regimes outside of practice – all of these players have other day jobs outside of basketball. It is difficult for them to find dedicated time to follow up with their fitness schedules outside of camp.”

“The positive,” he added, “Is that kids in India tend to have better base mobility and movement. They still do not have better control of their body weight, and we have to work on making sure that they reach certain standards before they start working with heavier weights.”

Heffelfinger’s responsibilities encompass the entire plethora of Indian national teams, including the Seniors, the U18s, the U16s, and the U14s for both boys and girls. Over the past three months, he has only had a chance to work with the Seniors and the U18s, the latter of whom he took part in a camp most recently and will be heading out again to the SAI Center in Aurangabad to help the U18 girls’ prepare for the upcoming FIBA Asia U18 Championship for Women in Jordan in a few weeks.

When his responsibilities eventually trickle down to the U16s and U14s, Heffelfinger will be handed the keys to coaching kids at the most transformative of ages.

Tommy Heffelfinger takes the team through stretching exercises. Photo:
Rajesh Chavan.

“When kids get to a certain age, it is considered their peak-height velocity, after which we can begin more focus on strength training,” said Heffelfinger, “That is a maturation point, usually around 15-16 for most kids, where we can introduce heavy weights more. Before that age, most of the training is usually technique based.”

But once the young players begin to focus on lifting weights and sculpting their bodies for optimum basketball shape, Heffelfinger warns that there is a strict need to be aware of the right parts of the body to work on.

“It’s true, a lot of people don’t know which part of the body they must work on, and the same is true for basketball,” he said, “For example, in basketball, you need to have strong quads, and work on the hamstrings. Focusing on the lifting weights for the right parts of the body will improve performance and reduce risk of injury.”

“Players need to start addressing the balance of their bodies. Posterior imbalance can be the cause of a lot of injuries.”

Heffelfinger’s work over the past three months has already begun to show some early signs of improvement among the elite Indian athletes. He worked with the Senior Men’s team at camp in Greater Noida prior to the FIBA Asia Cup in Wuhan (China) a few months ago, a tournament now immortalized in Indian hoops history for showcasing some of India’s best-ever performances, including a memorable victory over Asian giants China. While the team’s Head Coach Scott Flemming deserved much of the credit for tactically preparing India – particularly on the defensive end – to punch above their weight, the work of Indian physiotherapists and strength trainers such as Heffelfinger in the background shouldn’t be ignored either; it was no doubt that the new Team India looked fitter than ever before and can now respond to many more of Coach Flemming’s gruelling demands.

In training camps, Heffelfinger has also noted improvement on more specific aspects of fitness. For example, he mentioned that the junior girls have improved their short-distance (20 meters) sprint times drastically over the past few months. “The improvement was off the roof,” he said, “I couldn’t even have hoped for them to improve their times so soon. They are all adding strength to their lower body.”

While the early returns have been positive, there are still several challenges that Heffelfinger hopes that India can overcome in the near future. The first priority, he said, is to find a place to lay out all the strength and conditioning related equipment and set up what he hopes will eventually become the ‘BFI Player Development Center’.

“We have all the equipment with us already,” he said, “But we still haven’t been able to use most of it, since we’re still waiting to find a place to set it up.”

Another concern for Heffelfinger has been the diet, and he has noted that the senior teams often return overweight or out of shape form breaks in national camps. With many players also being vegetarian, Heffelfinger has had to get creative with his dietary advice.

“First and foremost, they need to just stay away from oily food,” he said, “Currently, they also seem to have a very limited intake of food, which is shocking.”

Heffelfinger’s long-term goals for India start by prioritizing athlete health. He wishes to reduce basketball injuries by two-thirds and over-training injuries by one-half, too. He also has hopes to collect medical data of Indian players to create reports of players’ injury history. At this point, there is no such existing medical database in Indian basketball.

Further on, he plans to spend time with other strength coaches in India and train them to help create a pyramid system where each coach can then pass on health and fitness tips to many more around the country.

“I feel that there has been a distinct improvement in the national teams over the past few months,” said Heffelfinger, “It was extremely rewarding to see when the improvement leads to improved results.”

Some injuries – like Pratham Singh’s fall at Incheon – are unavoidable. Some are caused by unforeseen circumstances, an over-aggressive opponent, or simply bad luck. There is no perfect science to staying fit and no athlete – no matter how well trained – is going to be indestructible. But concentrated efforts from Heffelfinger and India’s health, fitness, and physiotherapy teams can seriously turn the odds around to avoiding injury.

And, as Heffelfinger states, the obvious fact is also the most important one. Healthier teams are more successful teams. For Indian basketball in the midst of a rapid push forward, any competitive edge for further success should be embraced.