One week on from the inaugural Women’s Coaching Forum at the National Basketball Arena, and we caught up with Suzanne Maguire to see how it all went and what the next steps are. 

"I’m still feeling a real buzz from the event!" she said. "We were led on the morning by our panel of five incredible women who collectively brought a huge amount of experience from a variety of perspectives, which set us up nicely. I was really encouraged by the number of people who turned up Sunday morning to participate and contribute to the discussion, and will take this opportunity now to thank everyone who did attend."

"We positioned this Forum as a starting point to a larger initiative, coupled with the 20x20 campaign, to help grow the number of female coaches in prominent coaching positions. While we acknowledge that there are a huge amount of women across the country involved in coaching at a variety of levels, we recognized the need to connect better, support more & develop better pathways to enable women realize their coaching potential," she continued. 

“Coaching is a joy, it’s a reward” - @colemanmaeve at this morning’s Women’s Coaching Forum @20x20_ie #20x20 #CantSeeCantBe pic.twitter.com/70UG0MEB1A

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) January 27, 2019

"Some of the key takeaways from the Forum included: Top down pathways, mentoring, accessibility, coaching networks and a refresh to existing coaching courses that incorporate the diverse needs of the modern day coach. "

"The next step is to write up a full report on the Forum and agree the short term and long term initiatives to address all of the discussion items, actions and feedback that came out on the day. It was great to have five Board Members of Basketball Ireland in attendance, including the President, indicating the commitment and support pledged by our National Governing Body." 

What a panel for the Women’s Coaching Forum @20x20_ie @TweetingBird13 #20x20 #CantSeeCantBe pic.twitter.com/9QDmdEAmvM

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) January 27, 2019

“My coaching career is just beginning” National Cup winning coach @ErinBracken35 Women’s Coaching Forum @20x20_ie #20x20 #CantSeeCantBe pic.twitter.com/uXakAd0jMI

— Basketball Ireland (@BballIrl) January 27, 2019

I went to the @BballIrl #20x20 women’s coaching forum today and then brought my 6 yr old girl to the finals. She took this programme to bed and read all about the amazing women she’d seen play. She told me she wants me to teach her to shoot. #CantSeeCantBe @TweetingBird13 pic.twitter.com/7DJhFQCoFX

— Lisa Tierney-Keogh (@lisatk) January 27, 2019