A sports and exercise student at the Medway campus has been appointed apprentice coach of England Basketball’s Under-16s team.
Troy Culley, 24, who carried out coaching for the national Under-18 team last season works with basketball teams across Kent while completing the final year of his degree.
He is leader of the South East Regional Performance Centre, working with players from Kent, Sussex and Surrey, and head coach of Kent Crusaders’ Under-14 boys’ team. He also coaches at 4 schools in Medway – Robert Napier, Brompton Academy, Greenacre & Thomas Aveling – as part of the club’s community programme.
His role in national coaching began through a personal recommendation which led to interviews and then the offer of the apprentice position. He says it means a lot to be invited back as it shows he was working in the right direction last year.
He has attended England Basketball training camps, most recently before Christmas, and will be with the U16s team as they prepare to compete at the European Championships in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, this summer.
Having an academic scholarship from the University of Kent has enabled him to study for his degree and ultimately kept him in a position to develop.
Troy Culley next aims to study for a Masters with the eventual goal of coaching professionally.