Douglas Courtney can't wait to put something back into a sport which has given him so much in the past.
"I love the team atmosphere of basketball and the enjoyment I get out of helping players and coaches achieve their goals - that's a real highlight for me," said the recently appointed Basketball CoachForce Sport Development Officer.
Courtney, who has been in the new role for three weeks, will help facilitate the promotion of basketball through school visits, by delivering coaching programmes to coaches and by working with identified young talent in the region.
"I am hoping to create more structured pathways into the sport," he said. "I am hoping to keep the participation rates of basketball up and help upskill both players and coaches, as well as develop a Bay of Plenty high performance centre that mirrors the New Zealand High Performance centre, allowing our players more exposure to national coaches."
Courtney, who will be based at the Rotorua Sportsdrome alongside Sport Bay of Plenty's Rotorua staff, brings years of experience and passion to the role.
Born and raised in the Sulphur City, Courtney became involved with basketball as a 12-year-old and quickly impressed age-group selectors with his skills on and off the court.
After being drafted into the BOP senior second division side at age 16, Courtney spent 10 years playing for the province before making the transition into coaching.
He has coached school age teams, undertaken high performance coaching after meeting Tab Baldwin, started a degree in sports exercise and oversaw Hamilton Boys' High School's basketball programme while coaching the team to the New Zealand secondary schools national championships for the first time.
In addition, Courtney ran specialised basketball camps on behalf of Sport Waikato and developed a reputation for identifying the hottest talent in the sport including rising New Zealand star, 216cm, Alex Pledger.
Courtney has taken Pledger from raw novice to potential international star, with many US colleges already being expressing considerable interest in the 17-year-old.
Courtney will join the CoachForce team, whose main is to develop regional sport through the employment of sport development officers, covering the wider Eastern and Western Bay of Plenty region.
"I can't wait to help athletes and coaches reach their goals and help them reach their full potential," he said.
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