You spent a year coaching in Serbia, when was this and how did it come about?

I first went to Serbia in July 2011 where I spent 2 weeks at a camp in Zlatibor which is a famous mountain resort renowned for hosting camps. During my time there I would spend up to 18 hours a day studying practices and talking to coaches. I was introduced to this opportunity by my close friend Mandy Payne (previously Pollard) who is well known on the basketball circuit and now works with Leicester Riders.

Whilst I was out in Zlatibor I got talking with the director of my camp that I was with and mentioned that if any opportunities were to arise where I could work with a team I would give up everything to pursue a dream of coaching and developing abroad. A couple of months later I received an email detailing an opportunity to go to Belgrade and be a part of euroleague club Red Star Belgrade and their program. On January 14th 2012 I left Luton airport and flew to Belgrade where I lived for 5 months.

What team were you working for and what were your responsibilities?

Originally I worked with the school team College Belgrade as an assistant coach for the first period of time I was out there with both their U16 and U18s teams which competed in the Belgrade league. When I returned in September I was assistant coach to Red Star U16s team.

During practice week I would help out the coach with whatever he required. Both teams would train twice a day, a morning practice and an evening practice. The morning practice would be mostly individual technique so I might be tasked with working with the guards or with an individual player.

My other main responsibility during the week would be to watch games on the opponents that we would face on the weekend. I would scout the oppositions plays and individual player characteristics, so as we headed closer to game day we would come up with a plan on how to attack or defend certain actions or players. On game day itself I would be responsible for giving feedback to the players, suggesting a certain play to the coach, tracking the fouls and watching how the opposition defended.

Is the culture different in Serbia compare to the UK? Did you find it difficult to adjust?

The Serbian people were so welcoming, I was taken under the wing of good people and made very close friends. The culture is work super hard but make time for friends and family. There were times when it was a little difficult but anyone being away from home would find that. I immersed myself into the Serbian culture and made an effort to learn phrases. I was able to understand most basketball terminology and I would get the idea of what a conversation was about. But I was also fortunate that my friends could speak excellent English.

What's Basketball like in Serbia? What are the differences and similarities to UK Basketball?

Serbia is known as the land of basketball, everyone is connected to basketball in some way. I guess the differences are that basketball is everywhere in the media and the players get access to so much basketball, similar to what Football receives here. Players train a minimum of once a day and the top clubs train twice a day so the individual technique of the players is of a lot higher standard as well as the general basketball IQ. To coach in the national league you must have a university degree in sports coaching and it must be basketball orientated. Every national league game must be filmed and uploaded onto the leagues website which is similar now to what the EABL does.

What was your experience of Belgrade like? Did you enjoy living there?

Belgrade is an amazing city, without doubt the best nightlife that I have experienced with great people all out to have a good time. I loved living there it made me appreciate things that we take for granted, we can be so obsessed with materialistic things. I now try and visit Belgrade at least once a year.

Are there differences in coaching philosophies in Serbia?

The philosophy is heavily based towards individual technique, lots of repetitions in areas such as triple threat and footwork. Players cannot move on until they have the basics right.

Do you feel the experience helped you develop as a coach?

Absolutely, it has shaped my coaching philosophy and coaching style, but I must add that my philosophy is always changing and adapting, the learning never stops and you must be a student of the game!

Is there anything specific you learnt whilst there that you try to use in your coaching now?

With the limited time that we have with the players we try to focus heavily on individual technique and try to get players to understand that it is a step by step process.

It sounds like Basketball in Serbia is much better resourced than in the UK. Why do you think this is?

Basketball is more of a business, in the same way football is here. Some clubs are supported by the government but most of the clubs are supported by sponsors and local councils. I know this is the same in most of Europe where the local councils sponsor sports. For example, clubs have access to facilities and more than likely do not have to pay for it.

What were the facilities like where you coached?

In the national league we played in arenas not sports halls!  When we played in the Belgrade league we played in school halls or sports halls like here in the UK.

Why do you think it is that Basketball is so popular in Serbia compared to the UK?

It has more of a mainstream culture and a deeper history. The media has a lot to do with it and the clubs play at the highest level with in Europe. Basketball players are well known there; the public in the UK would struggle to name a British basketball player!

Do you think the UK could ever compete with the level of basketball in Serbia? What would that take?

Yes of course if everything was in place such as organisation, coaching and officiating quality control as well as more universal court accessibility.

Finally, Huish has a brand new sports facility, which is due to open very soon and which you'll be using going forward. What sort of impact will this have for you and Basketball at Huish?

I am hopeful that it will inspire the basketball community within Somerset and be a place that we can call home. I hope that because of this there will be an increase in the amount of players playing at schools who will then want to play for their local Somerset club. The upside of this would be an increase in the pool of players with a growth mind-set wanting to get better.

Obviously more players to choose from increases competition and inspires players to want to improve. The new facility will be state of the art with fixed seating and cameras to a support video analysis, I want the Huish program along with Tigers to be amongst the best in the South West, we want players to want to come to us to learn and improve!

That sounds great! We’ll look forward to seeing Huish in action in 2017. Thanks for taking the time to answer some questions.