Turning a Small Town of 120,000 Into a Hub of Basketball Talent – With Nick Drane – Ep. 51

By Sam Neter on May 4, 2019

For Episode 51 of the Hoopsfix Podcast we sit down with Ipswich Basketball’s Nick Drane to talk about the stellar work he has done building a local club and developing home grown talent.

Having started playing with Colchester as a junior player, Drane was in his early twenties when he got his first job in basketball development in Suffolk which put him on a path that led to the resurgence of Ipswich basketball club.

Ipswich is now one of the most successful clubs in the country, having experienced success at almost every level both male and female, whilst having sent players to play collegiately in the US, and onward to successful professional careers. Most impressively, Ipswich thrives off locally developed talent, relying on no external recruitment.

In this 1 hour and 45 minute episode, hear from Nick on:

How he first started playing at school and in the back garden against his older brothers
His first introduction to national league through the Colchester programme and Mark Lloyd
Going to Canada on a scholarship and why he left
His return from Canada and getting a job in basketball development
The impact Mark Lloyd had on his career
The personal satisfaction he gets out of coaching basketball
His early involvement with Ipswich Tomcats (now Ipswich basketball club)
How important it is to work with local schools to build basketball in an area
Why the first goal when working with young players is for them to have fun
Building a basketball club from the bottom up
What he would do if tasked with developing more elite level talent in the UK
The importance of personalities of coaches with younger players
The importance of local role models
The upside of being from a smaller rural town
Getting local press coverage
Raising sponsorship
The importance of facilities and whether or not the club is limited by a small gym
Whether Ipswich has BBL and WBBL aspirations
Reflecting on the women’s successful undefeated 2018 campaign
The current state of women’s basketball in the UK
The differences between coaching boys and girls
Finding big kids and turning them into basketball players
Programmes holding onto players
Academies basketball in the UK
His experiences with the national teams
Why he’s not cut out to be an assistant coach
The future of Ipswich Basketball Club
And much, much more!

As always, I’d love to get your feedback, come back after you’ve listened and lets get some discussion going in the comments.

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