Junior Performance Excellence Program (J-PEP) Overview

PROGRAM OVERVIEW:

The Junior Performance Excellence Program (JPEP) is a development program for the highest-performing as well as highest-potential athletes in the under 14 age group throughout the province. Note: Athletes must not reach the age of 14 before January 1st of the program year. The goal of the program is to better support the development of athletes in this important age group while preparing them for the Basketball Nova Scotia’s (BNS) Provincial Team Program AND athletes who have National team potential and through Canada Basketball identification.

PROGRAM STRUCTURE:
Athletes who are selected to be part of the program will participate in training sessions that include skill development and competition against other like-skilled athletes. The JPEP program runs across the following eight (8) regions with the goal to support development in ALL areas of the province: Cape Breton, Dartmouth, Fundy, Halifax, Highland, Southshore #1 (Chester/Mahone Bay/Lunenburg/Bridgewater), Southshore #2 (Liverpool/Lockeport/Shelburne/Digby/Yarmouth) and Valley.

The JPEP program is broken into 3 separate training blocks:

• Fall block (6 weeks) beginning in October

• Winter block (8 weeks) beginning in January

• Spring block (8 weeks) beginning in April
  

Training sessions will run 1 x weekly (2 hour sessions) throughout the duration of each block.
Males and females will train separately. 

Athletes who are selected for the program will have the option to ‘opt in’ or ‘opt out’ for each training block. For example, if an athlete participates in the fall block, they can choose to not participate in the winter block and they can opt back in for the spring session. After each block, athletes will receive an invitation to the next block, at which time they can ‘opt in’ or ‘opt out’.

Each block will include training in a specialized area including strength and conditioning (S&C), nutrition, and mental performance consulting (MPC). 

All athletes in the program will receive a basketball specific workout for each block that they can take home with them to work on their development independently, aside from their training in the program. 

At the end of each block, athletes will be provided a short ‘report card’ of their progress including their strengths and growth areas. 

There will be centralized training and competition opportunities 2 x per year (fall (1 day) and spring (weekend)). These centralized sessions will consist of the top athletes from each region (note: not all athletes in the program will be invited). One or more of the central sessions may be in collaboration with one or more of the Atlantic provinces. Numbers of athletes invited per region may differ.