National Teams (U14, U15 & U17)

Aligned with the Great Britain performance pathway and shaped by feedback from players, coaches, and clubs, we’ve continued to evolve the National Teams structure to better support young athletes. Key updates include:

Expanded Age Groups | We are thrilled to announce that this year’s National Teams programme is expanding to include the U14 age group.  This addition allows us to provide even more players with the opportunity to experience a high-performance training environment.

National Team Programme Model | We will continue to offer a National Team structure at these age groups. This model allows players to train as a smaller squad under their National Team coaches, ensuring more individual attention.  It also helps them develop a consistent style of play and build team chemistry ahead of tournaments.

Timings | The majority of camps will now take place over weekends, making it easier for Club Coaches to attend. This also allows us to engage a broader pool of high-level coaches throughout the programme.  All camps will begin after the conclusion of the club season, allowing players to fully commit to their club responsibilities before turning their focus to the National Team programme.

TAG replaces Regional Academy

The Regional Academy programme has also evolved, into TAG (Team Around the Game) and our new National Team structure further separates the two. Acceptance onto the National programme is not reliant on access to TAG (previously Regional Academy).

National Teams Programme | Leadership and Eligibility

The National Team programme will continue to be led by Donnie MacDonald, Bart Sengers and Darryl Wood. Our youth national team activity (U14, U15 and U17) provides a development and benchmarking platform for players who may progress into Great Britain pathway environments in future.

Player eligibility
To be considered for basketballscotland youth national team activity, players must meet the following requirements:

• British passport
  Players must hold a valid British passport to be eligible for match selection.
• Scotland connection (one of the following)
  In addition to holding a British passport, players must meet at least one of the following:

1. The player was born in Scotland, or
2. The player has a parent born in Scotland, or
3. The player has been continuously resident in Scotland for a minimum of three years immediately prior to selection (or the relevant competition deadline where specified).

• Players based outside of Scotland
  We recognise that eligible players may be based outwith Scotland. Players who meet the eligibility criteria above may be considered regardless of where they are currently based, subject to availability and selection decisions.

Important note
Eligibility allows a player to be considered for selection but does not guarantee selection. Selection is performance-based and considers role fit, behaviours, availability, and programme requirements.

Commonwealth Games (3x3) – eligibility
Commonwealth Games selection sits under Team Scotland and the Commonwealth Games Federation eligibility framework. basketballscotland will communicate Commonwealth Games specific eligibility and selection information separately when relevant to a Games cycle.

Dates of the Programme 

The National Academy Programme will be delivered in partnership with Caledonia Gladiators and will take place in PlaySport, Stewartfield Way, East Kilbride on the following dates for both Male and Female players: 

Camp 1 (3 days)	27th-29th Decemer 2025 - U14/U15/U17 Men 28th-30th December 2025 - U14/U15/U17 Women	U14 – 25 players U15 – 20 players U17 – 18 players
Camp 2 (3 days)	10th – 12th April 2026	U14 – 16 players U15 – 16 players U17 – 14 players
Camp 3 (2 days)	25th – 26th April 2026	U14 – 14 players U15 – 14 players U17 – 12 players
Camp 4 (2 days)	16th – 17th May 2026	U14 – 14 players U15 – 14 players U17 – 12 players
Camp 5 (2 days)	30th – 31st May 2026	U14 – 14 players U15 – 14 players U17 – 12 players

All sessions will be open to coaches who want to come along and learn. 

Expressions of Interest 

Playing for Scotland is an incredible honour. One that requires commitment, hard work and desire.  At this time, we are asking for expressions of interest from those born from 2009 – 2013 who believe they have the ability and appetite to improve, a strong team ethos and an insatiable desire to play for Scotland. (Exceptional younger talent may be considered).

We want your coach to believe in you too, which is why we ask for coach endorsement within the expression of interest form.  At least one coach from the Club is expected to attend these sessions with their player(s) to help maximise the player’s chance of success through the learning they can take back to their club. It will also prove valuable for learning and development for the coach.

The expressions of interest for the 2025/26 season has now closed.

Selections

For the first camp selection will be based on our current player depth chart and individual performance in the National Leagues. Invites will be sent out by 24^th November 2025.

Selection for subsequent camps will be determined by player performance and demonstrated talent behaviours within each camp.  Any coach who wishes to recommend players for future camps, should send an email recommending the reasons why, along with video evidence. This should be sent, at least one month prior to the camp, to competitions@basketball.scot  

Costs

The costs of the programme are still to be confirmed, so details of this will follow.  Each camp will need to be booked and paid individually.  All efforts will be made to make the National Team programme affordable for all, and scholarships will be available.

Sponsorship

If you're interested in sponsoring any of our youth national teams, we'd love to hear from you. We're committed to keeping costs low while enhancing the player experience, and we're open to discussing both financial and in-kind sponsorship opportunities.  

Questions

Any questions should be directed to competitions@basketball.scot