We are really pleased to announce 2 very exciting coaching appointments to spearhead our mens and women’s first teams for the 2021/22 season!
Leading our Rockets Men’s programme will be Coach Paul Douglas. Following an illustrious BBL playing career during which Douglas established himself as one of the city’s best-ever homegrown players Birmingham Bullets, he has more recently been renowned as one of the leading player development coaches in the UK.
Coach Douglas will extend his role at Rockets Broadway Academy to head up our men’s first team as we look forward to a new era at the club when taking to our latest show court at Nechells Wellbeing Centre!
At the same time Coach Peter Mintoft will take the helm of Rockets Women’s Team as they head into National League competition for the first time in the club’s history. Coach Mintoft has a wealth of coaching experience behind him with several years of national team and top level coaching experience to call upon.
Rockets Managing Director Rob Palmer is delighted to have secured the 2 appointments as the club look to emerge from the pandemic on a strong footing, “We were hugely impressed by the high quality level of candidates that applied for our coaching roles from across the basketball world.
After a thorough selection process we are pleased to have offered Coach Douglas and Coach Mintoft the head coach positions at what is a very exciting and pivotal time for the club, with our facility refurbishment enabling us to transcend our game nights into something we believe will be very special and help propel the club forward on the court in line with our off court ambitions”
Coach Douglas is looking forward to the challenges ahead, “I have had the opportunity to see how the club has grown from a distance and the vision that they have for the future is extremely exciting.
Being appointed as the First Team Head Coach is a great honour and one that I do not take lightly. With the talent that I will have available through the age group performance programme plus returning players from the last campaign, I think we can create some excitement for the club and city through our style of play and ambition to climb up the leagues”
Taking the female programme forward was a big lure for Coach Mintoft, “ Women’s basketball is currently enjoying a little more prominence and at the City of Birmingham Rockets we are keen to play our part in providing better opportunities.
It is therefore a major step forward for the Club to enter the National League in order to give our ladies the chance of facing and competing with the best teams in the country. A talented squad has been brought together and are now working hard on developing a growth mindset and skills to deal with the rigours of performance basketball.
The Women’s team will look to be role models for the many young girls that are now joining our playing ranks and help them develop into well-rounded basketballers.”