Derby Trailblazers Basketball Club
INTRODUCTION
This page should hopefully give players and parents most of the information you require about our Basketball Academy. We hope you find this useful but please get in touch with any questions you might have. The Basketball Academy started in 2010 and as had enormous success over the past decade. Some of those individual and team successes are highlighted within. We are starting off by looking at what three of our student athletes, who won awards during the 2019/20 season had to say about their time on the programme.
Charlie Brown
2020 EABL Defensive Player of the Year
“My time with the academy was amazing, from both a sporting and academic perspective. The reason for this is because I had training almost every night with both the academy and the club teams which meant you are always learning but also because the academy is part of the club it’s very easy to gel as a team and make real good friends.
In terms of education this schedule was designed so it did not hinder my academic performance because of the help from the college teachers, which makes it much easier to manage your workload and complete all tasks to a high standard.
Therefore, the 3 years I spent at the academy really allowed me to thrive in that environment and helped me develop as a student athlete which is shown through the accolades I got whilst at Derby College, such as winning the Defensive Player of the Year award and average the most Assists Per Game, but also maintain a perfect academic record throughout this time achieving a D*D*D* in Sport and Exercise Science.”
Kenny Hamilton
2020 WEABL Defensive Player of the Year and Most Improved Player of the Year
“Joining Derby last year has been the best decision I have made for my basketball, it has helped me improve massively, Since playing WEABL my defence has improved incredibly because I am able to go up against some of the best players in the country and truly challenge myself,” said Hamilton. It was tough leaving home, but the family environment in Derby has been amazing. That said not every turn has been successful, I’ve had failures too, like being cut from the East Midlands team, but I’ve learnt that is okay because I felt the fear and used it to motivate myself.”
Blake Bowman
2020 EABL Most Valuable Player
“I enjoy the atmosphere in the Academy and the club. We all work so hard, pushing each other, being driven by the different coaches, but we also have a lot of fun while we improve. Its been a great environment for me to get better as I’ve been pushed to play at a higher level. I’ve played NBL D1 Men’s for the last two seasons which has also forced me to improve quickly and learn from senior players. Derby College is a great place to learn, I’ve really enjoyed the environment and made some great friends.”
