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Coaching Announcements

With Storm Basketball Club growing so quickly, we’ve been fortunate enough to secure 6 new coaches for the upcoming season. Ian Berry, Michael Kwentoh, Freddie Winton, Denny Burling, Keanu Kellett & Mark Chiang will all be joining our coaching ranks, further growing and developing our workforce across the Local League, National League and Foundation programmes.

Ian & Michael will be joining our Sussex Storm National League programme and come with a wealth of experience coaching at various levels across London. Having played NBL Division One last year for Hemel Storm, Ian is a product of Sussex basketball, having played for the programme when it was known as Brighton Bears, before moving to London & working with Greenhouse Sports. Michael runs Chiswick Gators, a successful local league programme operating in West London. He also has a wealth of National League coaching experience having previously helped NASSA to a Final Four appearance in 2013, while more recently working with Richmond Knights. In addition, Michael is a nationally respected referee who has officiated at the highest levels of National League.

Denny, Keanu & Freddie are Crawley basketball alumni, having come through the Local League, National League and Academy systems themselves, and they are now coming back to the club to give back to invest in the future. All are currently involved in the Summer Term of Battle of the Borough (BotB), and moving forwards the trio will be heavily involved in the Crawley Storm Local League programme, while Freddie will also be working for the Storm Basketball Foundation within schools in the area.

Mark has also been involved in the Summer Term of BotB as one of our new and developing coaches, with a background playing as a junior in Eastbourne.

National League Head Coach, Daniel Hildreth said: “This is great for our club, to not only increase the number of coaches in our programme, but also the quality that we can offer our kids. It is really encouraging that a number of the coaches are returning to give back to a club they once played for. We anticipate more coaching development opportunities coming soon.”

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Everyone Active Partnership

We are pleased to announce that we have a new partnership with Everyone Active that will see basketball coming back to K2 Crawley, one of the town’s and Sussex’s premier venue! The new partnership means that K2 Crawley will be used for Storm’s mid-week training sessions and games. More information to follow.

Karl Youngman said: “I’m really excited to get back into K2 Crawley. As Crawley Cagers we had some games there when it first opened, but we’ve never had anything permanent. It’s the best venue around and central for everyone in Crawley. Having recently hosted a Battle of the Borough event and our National League trials there already, it’s given us a taste of how great this partnership will be. Huge thank you to Dave Downey, Sports Development Manager for Everyone Active at K2 Crawley for his help making this happen!”

Dave said: “We are really proud and excited to be hosting basketball at K2 Crawley. Our aim is to encourage people to be active more often, whilst also developing talent pathways from grass roots through to elite athletes, and this partnership with Storm will deliver this perfectly.”

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Battle of the Borough

January 2019 sees the launch of ‘The Battle of the Borough’ (BotB), a fortnightly mini basketball league for 7-10 year olds (Years 3-4 and new year 5s). 

Players are able to sign up as individuals or with friends, and will be placed in teams based on their schools geography. Teams will play 2-3, 4v4, cross court games each week on lowered hoops.

Upon joining the league players will receive a reversible jersey to be worn as kit, and will be placed into team by their schools geography. It’s then time to battle it out for the borough title.

“Playing opportunities are scarce for this age group, so we want to provide a fun & friendly environment for new players to learn the game”, said Karl Youngman. “I was inspired by SCE’s City League, and wanted to create a league with a similar concept for players in our ever growing U8s, U10s & schools programmes.”

The 2019 Spring Term will run on Sundays 20th January, 3rd & 17th February, 3rd, 17th & 31st March, 1pm-4pm at The Holy Trinity School.

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Storm Basketball Foundation Launches

The Storm Basketball Foundation will be our new community programme focused on growing participation from a younger age, in Crawley and the surrounding areas. 

The Foundation will deliver after-school clubs to the majority of the secondary schools in Crawley and will run a number of Breakfast clubs, curriculum time session, lunchtime clubs & after-school sessions at the local primary schools. 

Karl Youngman will take lead on the Foundation assisted by Jordan Richards, and will be delivering regular holiday camps, primary & secondary schools leagues/tournaments, community sessions & the ‘Battle of the Borough’; a new mini-basketball league aimed at 7-9-year-olds, putting the neighbourhoods of Crawley against each-other. 

“This is something that I’ve wanted to have running in Crawley for a long time, even back to the early days of Crawley Cagers. I’ve seen the massive impact that South Coast Elite has had on players in Brighton, and it’s inspired me, even more, to get something running here. I’ve got a lot of respect for Tom Ward, he’s done an amazing job with SCE. Tom’s given me a lot of guidance about how to run the foundation as effectively as possible,” said Karl. ​

He continued, “I’m glad to have Jordan onboard, and I think together we can make a real difference in the area. The ultimate goal is to get all schools regularly playing basketball, from as young as possible. The area has proved to be a hotspot for talent in the last 10 years, and we have only just scratched the surface. I’m excited to see what we can do next.”

Jordan said; “After working with a mix of players in Crawley last year, I’m incredibly excited to get started with the Foundation. The players from Crawley are incredibly hard working and bring a unique attitude to the sport. Last year I worked for SCE running schools sessions and being involved in camps, and I can’t wait to bring that experience into the Crawley area.”