Slam Jam is Basketball England's exciting new programme for children aged 7-11 years old. Slam Jam aims to develop fundamental motor skills whilst developing a passion for Basketball – which according to Sport England’s new Active People analysis is the second best sport for getting young people active.
Slam Jam gives kids a great first experience of basketball in a fun and safe environment. Designed by a collaboration between experts and young people, the package includes resource packs (with 12-weeks of activities), activator training, marketing materials and plenty of other Slam Jam branded goodies. The programme has been designed in alignment with the national curriculum whilst offering the opportunity to support teachers to develop their confidence in delivering PE and basketball – whilst keeping young people active when at home.
Get on board so together we can provide a great first experience for young people and unearth the basketball stars of the future.
We know that many clubs already have their own, well established participation programmes. Becoming a Slam Jam delivery partner brings with it a host of benefits for your club, whilst still allowing you to enjoy the successes of your existing programmes. Basketball England are on hand to support and promote the sessions that you deliver to ensure as many people are playing the game as possible. A serious of benefits are listed below:
Slam jam sessions are to be conducted by Activators utilising a bespoke coaching resource consisting of 12 weeks worth of activity cards. Clubs should detail the qualifications their delivery staff possess when signing up before they are accredited as a delivery partner with the Slam Jam Activator course being made available to those wanting to deliver the programme with no previous experience of coaching basketball.
The programme allows significant flexibility so it can be shortened into a 6 week programme as well as an intensive week long camp depending on what your circumstances are.
Although Slam Jam is not about developing the next big star, all of the activity cards support the development of basketball skills. Each card has a session focus, however some children may struggle to master the skills set out in the activity cards so it is important to be flexible and prioritise fun and enjoyment over technical competence. Adopting the Slam Jam principles, each session will follow the format of - Movement Development (A cards), Game Introduction (B cards) and Game Development (C Cards). An example session card can be found here!
Cards are colour coded to give activators flexibility with activities; mixing cards up is fine as long as the same colour cards are used together. Sessions will last between 45 and 60 minutes and should aim to keep children engaged for most of the time. Cards can be delivered in numerical order or in an order that suits the children's motivations.
The movement development section of the cards will support children to enhance their physical literacy skills and should always be delivered first to prepare the children for game-based activities.
The game element of the cards will provide players the opportunities to solve problem, work with others and experience the exciting parts of basketball. Games are not viewed as a reward for good behaviour, they are used as an essential learning tool that also supports Children's motivation.
We have a whole host of equipment and resources to accompany the delivery of your Slam Jam sessions making them as fun and engaging as possible. The details below show what you need when delivering your sessions with all available to purchase on our Basketball England shop along with a whole host of other goodies to add value to your sessions.
When signing up to the programme, all club's and organisations receive the following;
Participant's require a Participant Pack when taking part in the programme. Delivery partners can use participant packs in whatever way they think is best to ensure there sessions are as fun and engaging as possible. Participant packs include the following and are available in a number of different colours and sizes;
Never coached basketball before or wanting to get more young people to playing basketball? Once you have attended a Slam Jam Activator Course you will be ready to start delivering your own Slam Jam sessions. Use the button below to locate and book onto a course near you.
If you have any questions please contact participation@basketballengland.co.uk
