Top-class coaching offered at Brookes (From The Oxford Times)

Top-class coaching offered at Brookes

10:09am Thursday 22nd January 2009 in News

With the build-up to the London Olympics in 2012 now in full swing, money has been rapidly channelled into sport to help find and nurture young stars of the future.

And it’s not only elite athletes who are set to benefit, as local youngsters involved in a unique sporting partnership – forged between Oxford Brookes University and some of the country’s top coaches – are discovering.

Brookes is promoting community outreach across all its six sports of excellence, where leading coaches have been recruited to build up the student rugby, hockey, rowing, climbing, basketball and cricket teams.

One example of this link-up involves students and coaches from the Centre for Sport at Brookes. They are working in the local community, encouraging youngsters to take up basketball.

Basketball is an up-and-coming sport, not only at Brookes but worldwide. It is one of the fastest growing and is especially popular in inner cities.

With Great Britain winning through to next year’s European finals for the first time, it is set to really take off in the run-up to the Olympics. It is now second only to football in the UK in terms of participation among children aged 11 to 16.

One of the reasons for this is the simplicity of the game, according to Ken Walton, basketball coach at Brookes. He said: “All you need is a basketball and a hoop.”

Despite this popularity, however, facilities for basketball in Oxfordshire have long been minimal.

This is starting to change for the better since Ken, a former England international, joined Brookes as coach, sending the University’s basketball teams rising up both national and student leagues.

At the same time, this success is filtering out into the community – for part of Ken’s funding includes responsibility for basketball development across Oxfordshire.

Last season, he set up the first league for local teams in the county, with matches and coaching for schools and clubs based at Brookes. The Central Venue league, which started with five teams, now has 15.

“We had no junior league in Oxfordshire and virtually no local teams,” explained Ken. “This season, we are running three leagues for boys, under 13, 15 and 17. Next on the horizon will be to develop girls’ sides.”

As part of community outreach, students are getting involved as well, with members of the Brookes squad coaching local youngsters at the university’s court on Saturdays.

Students Matt Brutnell, in his final year of a sports and coaching degree, and Zach Meekings, who graduated this year in sports coaching and history, both play in the university’s first team.

“It’s great to get the chance to work with the youngsters. They are so keen to learn” said Matt.

The two students travelled to France in the summer to work in a camp coaching young French boys in both basketball and English, and have been asked to return next year. Matt and Zach have also been involved in setting up a basketball group for an Asian Christian group in Blackbird Leys, which is now playing in a league with other Asian groups around the country.

The climbing wall is another university facility that is shared with the local community. Richard Cole, the climbing and outdoor pursuits manager at Brookes, is keen to promote its use for the community.

“We get a wide range of users. Experienced climbers can just book in and use it. At the other end of the scale it’s becoming really popular for birthday parties.”

Over the last year, the wall was used by 434 youth groups, from Scouts to schools, while over 100 people signed up for the novice climbing courses, run monthly.

Greg Wade, community hockey coach, and Richard Williams, community rugby coach, run coaching sessions in both schools and local clubs, while Paul Moss, rowing coach, oversees the Sporting Giants programme, in which local youngsters are selected for coaching in key sports if they have the physique.

At its two fitness studios and mainstream sports facilities in the Centre for Sport, Headington, the university hosts dance classes, aerobics, bodypump and circuit training, martial arts, yoga and tai chi – which are open to local people as well as students. Up at Harcourt Hill, the Westminster Sports Centre, which has recently been given a £500,000 revamp to, include a new fitness area and café, is widely used by local residents.

Keith Kelly, head of sport, keen to involve local people in the success of the Brookes sports programmes, said: “We’ve a great range of facilities at Brookes, and they are all shared with the local community.”