How Basketball Australia mentors community coaches across the country with Mentorly
Mentorly is the mentoring platform Basketball Australia uses to pair aspiring community coaches with experienced mentors, wherever in Australia they live. It is software for organizations that run structured mentoring programs, from national sports bodies to nonprofits and associations.
About the organization
Basketball Australia has been the governing body of the sport in Australia since 1939. It supports coaches at every level with resources, training and support networks, with the goal of growing community basketball nationwide. Its mentoring program connects aspiring coaches with seasoned professionals from the basketball world.
The challenge
The coaching community is spread across a very large country. An in-person program could not reach every region, so many aspiring coaches had no mentor nearby. Those who did join struggled to coordinate with mentors across busy schedules and time zones, and finding mentors for a specific region was hard.
How it uses Mentorly
Basketball Australia chose Mentorly because coaches of every background and experience level find it easy to navigate. On Mentorly, coaches book sessions, exchange feedback and track progress in one place. Because the program runs online, mentors and coaches connect regardless of where they live in Australia, which widened the pool of mentors available to each coach.
Results
The federation says the platform helps coaches and mentors build meaningful connections rather than trade one-off advice. Relationships continue past a single session into ongoing partnerships, which fits its mission of supporting coaches at every stage of their journey. Coaches now have direct access to experienced mentors.
What other programs can take from it
For a sports federation or any association whose members are spread over a wide territory, the lesson is to move mentoring online and let each person pick from a national pool of mentors, while the program team keeps sessions and feedback in one system.
Questions
What does Basketball Australia use Mentorly for?
Basketball Australia runs its coach mentoring program on Mentorly: aspiring community coaches are paired with experienced mentors, book sessions with them and exchange feedback online.
Can Mentorly run a mentoring program for a national sports organization?
Yes. Basketball Australia runs its national coach mentoring program on Mentorly, connecting coaches and mentors across Australia without requiring them to meet in person.