Mike Martin began his career in 1996, where he spent two years before signing professional with British Basketball League club Milton Keynes Lions in 1998. In 2001, after two seasons with his hometown franchise, Martin signed for Thames Valley Tigers, the predecessors to his current club, Guildford. The following year, Martin played for French team Saint Étienne, before moving back to the British Basketball League to play for Scottish Rocks in 2003. In 2005, Mike won a Bronze medal playing for England at the Commonwealth Games 2006 in Melbourne, Australia.
Mike said “I’ve been involved in basketball all of my life and I recently retired as a professional player. I wanted to give something back. There’s a huge scope for potential in the UK. What we provide at the Basketball Academy is face to face time and real coaching. Every person that signs up will get 15 hours of coaching per week. Studying and gaining a qualification is the primary goal. To be successful you have to be dedicated, passionate, a good work ethic and love of the game of basketball.”
Sports Learner, Ryan Springer, has recently joined the new Basketball Academy, he said, “We only began in September and I’ve already learnt so much from Mike. There’s a great quality of teaching which I’ve never experienced before and I can already see a difference in my performance and scoring technique. It’s hard work, you have to have really good time management skills and give up a lot of your free time but it’s worth it.”
The Basketball Academy is run in conjunction with LSB (London School of Basketball), an exciting, youth focused community project created by non-profit organisation ‘Reach & Teach’ which provides opportunities for young adults to learn new skills, find positive role models and develop confidence in themselves.
If you are interested in studying Sport or joining our Basketball Academy browse our courses by clicking on this link or visit http://www.conel.ac.uk/basketball-academy.html
