By Nick Moore @nickmoore4kent
Medway Park Crusaders’ head coach James Vear has announced he is heading to Canada to coach next season, becoming the fourth British coach this summer who has decided to ply his trade overseas.
Vear will be the new Assistant Coach at Dalhousie University, Canada, working under current GB U20s assistant John Campbell. In leaving the country, he joins GB assistant coach Tim Lewis and Tony Garbelotto who have both announced they will be coaching in Germany next season, and GB women’s assistant coach Damian Jennings who has been appointed the women’s head coach at the University of Calgary.
In his three year stint as Coach, Vear picked up a 40-34 win-loss record, and took the Kent-based side from a mid-table D2 side to a top eight D1 outfit.
Following his announcement Vear told Hoopsfix:
“I heard about the position through Campbell as we had an ex-graduate of Dalhousie this past season – Joseph Schow. We had been in contact over the past few seasons regarding potential import players and he had expressed an interest in me coming over to be an assistant this upcoming season. So we started the ball rolling after Christmas to see if I could obtain a VISA.
“We haven’t had a chance to sit down and discuss specific roles, but he knows I am very ambitious and I’m sure he will push me to become a better coach while I am there.”
Garbelotto quit as Mersey Tigers Coach to take charge of German Pro-A side Heidelberg – the 43-year-old has previously coached in Iceland and leaves the Tigers a year after leading them to the BBL title.
While GB Assistant Coach Lewis, is set to link up with former Scottish Rocks Coach, Thorsten Leibenath, at Beko BBL side, Ratiopharm Ulm, after the 2012 Olympics.
Jennings has been at the helm of women’s basketball powerhouse UWIC since 2005 and involved with the GB programme since its inception, primarily with the U20s who he led to promotion to Division A. He joins GB High Performance Manager Ron Wuotila, who was named University of Calgary’s Director of Athletics and Recreation last year.
Vear, at 31 years old, is one of the youngest of all four coaches – perhaps representing a worrying sentiment that the coaching pathway in the UK simply isn’t working, with coaches choosing the same option as younger players; getting out of the UK as soon as possible.
The number of coaches and players opting to leave the UK is rising at an alarming rate – what does this mean for the future of the British game? Let us know in the comments!
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{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
Its a sad truth that you simply cannot have a succesful coaching career in this country. i looked into the possibilty of moving overseas to coach before but ultimately didn’t feel I could uproot my family. Instead I have had to essentially give up coaching to be able to earn a decent living. There is simply no money in basketball to have a sustainable career.
Donna Finnie is another excellent British coach who has had to go across the pond to continue her coaching career. She led Scottish Junior National Teams for many years before heading to Houston Baptist University two years ago where she is now an Assistant Coach and the Recruiting Co-Ordinator for the NCAA Division One program. They have two Brits currently on their roster.
Its the Best thing i have ever done.. There is no depth in the coaching structure in the UK and lets face it it is being headed up by the same old people.. I had been toold so many white lies in the UK which ended up with me losing out on a lot of things including money just because i wanted to give my time to making players better.. Coaching aboard gives me the opportunity to simply coach and work with players with out all the political BS that goes on within the game in the United Kingdom.. You can put on as many clinics and coaching courses as you like, but the best way to learn is to live, eat, breath and make mistakes in an enviornment which is dedicated to making the players the best they can be, because that our role… Good luck to James, Damian and the rest of the coaches that are making the right choice and the best move for developing their carrer…
It’s the same for coaches as players. You want to play/coach at a high level, then get the fuck out of England.
Chris Hackett is another brit abroad. He’s been in the USA for years. Head coach at a college in Texas.
Jennifer Leedham, head coach, women’s basketball, Franklin Pierce University.
Might be an idea to add to the inventory of British players in the NCAA to have one ‘British coaches abroad.’
The AASE coaches earn decent money! and are getting good opportunities through the programme…..
A strong and vibrant coaches association, which meets twice a year, would help. I know coaches Dunning and Collins continue to try to promote and keep the BCA alive, but it seems to lack support, which I think to a degree highlights the ambivalence many British coaches hold towards development. You want to develop, you have to invest time and money into it, no matter what country you are in. How many coaches were at the Future Stars clinic this year? Great opportunity to learn from Euro coaches. How many are going to the Five Star Leeds clinic? Some highly experienced US coaches there to learn from. And to Anon, not all AASE coaches get paid, and further, how can they develop when some programs only had six games last year?
As Director of Coaching on the GB Board I started the BCA quite a few years ago. When I called the first meeting in Birmingham 3 other people turned up, John Collins Mike Brady and Alan Barber and so the BCA was established with Alan Barber as Secretary and John Collins as Chair. Then with the help of Alan Richardson who was technical secretary for EB at the time and the member of staff with whom I linked as Director Coaching we started the Annual Coaches Conference – the first one was at Cardiff over a weekend and a great success. While there was a top European Coach doing a clinic there was also time devoted to coaching issues and coaching development. I also had a great coaching committee at the time with the likes of Peter Shaw, Chris Worcester and Roy Blake and we co-opted a representative from the BCA. Mark Dunning came on board the BCA at this time and the BCA went from strength to strength with an annual conference growing year by year. Although a member of the Board of EB I always felt strongly that the BCA should remain independent of EB so it could properly fight the corner for coaches. Unfortunately as the years passed new people came in to the BCA and when John Collins resigned as Chair a whole new approach was decided. John Collins and I did not feel it would work and both resigned. Coaching has always been my first love in Basketball and it still is and I am sad to see where the BCA has ended up but it has been proved that it can work.
Part, if not a lot, of the blame must surely lie with the EB coaching officers who have the ultimate responsibility for the standard and improvement of coaches in this country.
As Roy Packham said in his article http://www.hoopsfix.com/2010/11/coaching-in-the-uk-needs-a-radical-overhaul/ there has to be a major overhaul of our coaching system. All other countries I believe have a vibrant and semi-independent coaches organization.
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