Pro Skills Academy 2022

13 talents from Germany and Austria participated in the second edition of the Pro Skills Academy in Bamberg

The camp took place right where it’s normally the BBL team of Brose Bamberg to put in work and perfect it’s game. But while the players of nine time german champion Bamberg spent their well deserved FIBA break away from the practice ground, 13 talents took their place and got see what working with Brose Bamberg’s youth coaches and Stefan feels like.

„It’s the second time we offered the Pro Skills Academy here in Strullendorf in our practice gym. Most of all we use this occasion to connect with players and coaches. What we are trying to create is something like a ‚happy bubble'“, says Stefan while he adds: „Many of the players bring their parents with them. This gives them and us the chance to talk about the future while we are able to show them the city and also all the processes a little bit.“

What the work and participating in those types of camps can lead to can be seen by looking at the example of Jakob Pöltl. Jakob is now a starter for the San Antonio Spurs and first participated in one of Stefan’s camps when he was 17. He continued to work with Stefan and has since made a name for himself in the NBA. „Of course he couldn’t be here because of his schedule but he made sure to send his best wishes. Also he his supporting us in various ways“, Stefan explains.

Help not only came from Austria’s finest but also from PUMA who supplied all participants: practice gear for all the players and coaches guaranteed not only a uniform appearance but made sure that everybody hit the court in style.

On the court – where the most important part of the weekend took place – it was all about working hard and improving. Stefan describes: „We focus on basic techniques as well as the details of shooting the basketball and drills that our players at Brose Bamberg run every day. We want the guys here to know how to finish at the rim and of course they should always be up to date with what’s new in the world of basketball. This is a big part of our work: keeping up with the evolution of the game.“

By the way: two Austrians now have a pretty good feeling of how working with Stefan and the Brose Bamberg coaches is like: Joshua Schönbäck and Nico Höllerl made their ways from Austria to Bamberg and have since been active for Brose Bamberg youth teams. „We explained to those kids how their way in Bamberg could look like and it matched their ideas pretty well. It wasn’t about recruiting in the first place. It just turned out that it could be a great match for both sides.“ Joshua and Nico are not the only players who made the move from Austria to Germany. Amar Licina also took part in the camp in 2020 and is now part of FC Bayern Basketball.

For Stefan it’s pretty clear that this wasn’t the last time that one of these camps took place in Bamberg. „Ideally we can continue in may and offer the Pro Skills Academy to under 18 players.“ If there are any questions regarding this or future camps don’t hesitate to contact Stefan.