How the love of the game keeps you playing into your 40’s – with Jason Swaine – Ep. 103

For episode 103 of the Hoopsfix Podcast, we sit down with former England senior international and BBL pro, Jason Swaine.

Swaine, known to be one of the great all-time shooters, picked up 24 caps for England, is a three-time BBL title winner and 12-time National League Division 1 title champion.

Starting his professional career with the Sheffield Sharks, he led the BBL in 3-point percentage in his second year, and also played for Chester Jets and Manchester Giants.

Eventually signing with Teeside Mohawks, he was a part of one of the most successful teams in national league history as they pulled off the clean sweep treble three times in four years.

After choosing to focus on his teaching career in 2004, he continued to play in the lower national leagues (winning Division 3 MVP twice in 2009 and 2010), before retiring from the national league in 2016 but still playing to this day in local leagues and in the masters tournaments.

Timestamps:
00:00 Intro
01:58 Interview start
02:10 Swaine’s take on the BBL this season in comparison to his playing days
05:18 Whether Jason followed the league much prior to this season
06:21 The growth of netball and Jason’s daughter being a player
08:39 Whether it’s hard for him to enjoy basketball as a fan
09:36 What made Jason first get into basketball
11:19 Balancing football and basketball
12:32 Curtis Xavier and his impact on Jason
15:17 Where are the roles for ex pros in the UK?
16:08 Whether he saw a career in basketball at 15
18:02 Swaine’s work ethic to become a great shooter
20:17 When he became known as a good shooter
21:53 Players he looked up to coming up
23:13 Access to the NBA in the early 90s
24:02 Why he switched from Calderdale to Doncaster
25:07 The level of competition in Division 1
26:46 Other great players of his generation
28:00 How the opportunity with the Sheffield Sharks came about
30:05 Whether he had a welcome to the pros moment
31:45 How much money he could earn as a 19 year old in the BBL
33:08 Whether playing in the BBL felt like ‘a thing’
35:41 To be a professional you need a tax code!
36:49 The increase of his role from his rookie year to his second year
39:19 The McDonald’s Open Championship
43:21 Playing Real Madrid being up 17 at the half and losing by 3
45:24 Making his debut with the England Senior national team at 21
47:28 Standout memories with the England team
49:16 How good were John Amaechi and Steve Bucknall?
50:58 Standout victories with England
52:55 Why he left Sheffield Sharks
57:15 His half season in Chester
58:50 Playing for Manchester Giants in their prime years
1:00:19 The level Manchester were operating at compared to other teams
1:01:30 Whether he thinks Manchester can get back to where they were
1:03:15 His dominant years with Teeside and why he chose to go D1
1:05:22 Teeside doing a treble three years out of four
1:07:23 What has kept Jason playing for so long
1:09:21 Playing with his son Eisley at Bradford in Division 1
1:12:59 The importance of having family support
1:14:33 Standout best British junior players
1:15:29 The best British player he has played with or against
1:16:20 Best individual performance he has ever witnessed
1:17:36 Favourite basketball memory
1:18:51 What is in the future for Jason in the next 3-5 years

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