USA Basketball announced on Saturday that it is adopting an expanded USA Women’s National Team training program. Designed to prepare the team for winning its seventh consecutive gold medal, USA Basketball has secured commitments from eight athletes from the 2019-20 USA National Team pool to participate in five training segments from November 2019 through April 2020.
The history of USA Basketball’s dedicated training program dates back 24 years when after failing to win gold medals at the 1992 Olympic Games and 1994 FIBA World Championship, the governing body knew that it had to overhaul its senior women’s basketball program. Coupled with the NBA’s interest in selling professional women’s basketball and UConn coming off of an undefeated season in 1995, the time was right to structure a long-term program.
Led by Sheryl Swoopes, Dawn Staley and Lisa Leslie, the 1995-96 Women’s National Team won an Olympic gold medal in 1996 and launched women’s basketball into the spotlight. Fast-forward to 2019, USA Basketball hopes that its rebooted program will amplify the profile of the team and excite interest in women’s basketball.
“In 1995-96 there were no pro leagues, so you played overseas. The idea that the WNBA and at the time the ABL were interested in putting something together, our year-long programming helped both of those leagues in terms of exposure,” said Carol Callan, USA Women’s National Team director. “Winning the gold medal in Atlanta was the Title IX Olympics. It gave a boost to women’s sports in general and helped with the formation of those two professional leagues.”
Callan notes that over the years, USA Basketball has adjusted to the women’s basketball environment. Adding that once the WNBA’s special services contracts ended and more players opted to go overseas as well as play in the league, the amount of national team training reduced.
Four-time Olympic gold medalists, Sue Bird and Dianna Taurasi, also recognized the diminished training schedule and pitched the revamped program as an opportunity to prepare for Tokyo while providing an alternative to spending the offseason playing overseas.
“Now the discussion with several injuries, who knows if it was overuse or just bad luck, but I think players are looking at ways to prolong their careers and not go overseas,” said Callan.
“You are seeing NBA teams hiring females, whether it is while they are still playing or after. And some players coaching at universities. There are now opportunities for players to make money without having to go overseas.”
While the athlete compensation package has not been publicly disclosed, Callan says that it is something USA Basketball is “proud of” and will announce once finalized.
Beginning in September 2019, members of the USA National Team will compete in the 2019 FIBA AmeriCup with the roster being identified as WNBA teams conclude their season. In November, the eight athletes from the 2019-20 USA National Team pool will participate in training segments that overlap with NBA All-Star Weekend, the NCAA Women’s Final Four, and the WNBA preseason. Also in support of growing interest in the sport, “the NCAA granted waivers to allow member schools to compete in exhibition games against the 2019-20 USA National Team.”
Along with Bird and Taurasi, participating athletes include: three-time Olympic and 2010 World Cup gold medalist Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota Lynx), 2016 Olympic and 2018 World Cup gold medalist Elena Delle Donne (Washington Mystics), two-time World Cup gold medalist Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks), 2018 World Cup gold medalist A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces) and USA National Team members Skylar Diggins-Smith (Dallas Wings) and Chelsea Gray (Los Angeles Sparks). USA Basketball will fill the remaining roster spots with additional national team athletes as their schedules allow.
“This expanded training is occurring during the offseason of the WNBA, thus allowing the players to stay around. We are going to be playing games against top collegiate programs, and we will have great storytelling around that,” said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO. “And we hope that exposure with the best women’s basketball in the world creates a lot of interest and inspires young girls to get involved with the sport and stay involved.”
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RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – AUGUST 20: Diana Taurasi #12 and Sue Bird #6 of USA Basketball Women’s National Team celebrate after winning the Gold Medal Game against Spain on Day 15 of the Rio 2016 Olympic Games at Carioca Arena 1 on August 20, 2016 in
NBAE/Getty Images
USA Basketball announced on Saturday that it is adopting an expanded USA Women’s National Team training program. Designed to prepare the team for winning its seventh consecutive gold medal, USA Basketball has secured commitments from eight athletes from the 2019-20 USA National Team pool to participate in five training segments from November 2019 through April 2020.
The history of USA Basketball’s dedicated training program dates back 24 years when after failing to win gold medals at the 1992 Olympic Games and 1994 FIBA World Championship, the governing body knew that it had to overhaul its senior women’s basketball program. Coupled with the NBA’s interest in selling professional women’s basketball and UConn coming off of an undefeated season in 1995, the time was right to structure a long-term program.
Led by Sheryl Swoopes, Dawn Staley and Lisa Leslie, the 1995-96 Women’s National Team won an Olympic gold medal in 1996 and launched women’s basketball into the spotlight. Fast-forward to 2019, USA Basketball hopes that its rebooted program will amplify the profile of the team and excite interest in women’s basketball.
“In 1995-96 there were no pro leagues, so you played overseas. The idea that the WNBA and at the time the ABL were interested in putting something together, our year-long programming helped both of those leagues in terms of exposure,” said Carol Callan, USA Women’s National Team director. “Winning the gold medal in Atlanta was the Title IX Olympics. It gave a boost to women’s sports in general and helped with the formation of those two professional leagues.”
Callan notes that over the years, USA Basketball has adjusted to the women’s basketball environment. Adding that once the WNBA’s special services contracts ended and more players opted to go overseas as well as play in the league, the amount of national team training reduced.
Four-time Olympic gold medalists, Sue Bird and Dianna Taurasi, also recognized the diminished training schedule and pitched the revamped program as an opportunity to prepare for Tokyo while providing an alternative to spending the offseason playing overseas.
“Now the discussion with several injuries, who knows if it was overuse or just bad luck, but I think players are looking at ways to prolong their careers and not go overseas,” said Callan.
“You are seeing NBA teams hiring females, whether it is while they are still playing or after. And some players coaching at universities. There are now opportunities for players to make money without having to go overseas.”
While the athlete compensation package has not been publicly disclosed, Callan says that it is something USA Basketball is “proud of” and will announce once finalized.
Beginning in September 2019, members of the USA National Team will compete in the 2019 FIBA AmeriCup with the roster being identified as WNBA teams conclude their season. In November, the eight athletes from the 2019-20 USA National Team pool will participate in training segments that overlap with NBA All-Star Weekend, the NCAA Women’s Final Four, and the WNBA preseason. Also in support of growing interest in the sport, “the NCAA granted waivers to allow member schools to compete in exhibition games against the 2019-20 USA National Team.”
Along with Bird and Taurasi, participating athletes include: three-time Olympic and 2010 World Cup gold medalist Sylvia Fowles (Minnesota Lynx), 2016 Olympic and 2018 World Cup gold medalist Elena Delle Donne (Washington Mystics), two-time World Cup gold medalist Nneka Ogwumike (Los Angeles Sparks), 2018 World Cup gold medalist A’ja Wilson (Las Vegas Aces) and USA National Team members Skylar Diggins-Smith (Dallas Wings) and Chelsea Gray (Los Angeles Sparks). USA Basketball will fill the remaining roster spots with additional national team athletes as their schedules allow.
“This expanded training is occurring during the offseason of the WNBA, thus allowing the players to stay around. We are going to be playing games against top collegiate programs, and we will have great storytelling around that,” said Jim Tooley, USA Basketball CEO. “And we hope that exposure with the best women’s basketball in the world creates a lot of interest and inspires young girls to get involved with the sport and stay involved.”