Nottinghamshire basketball coach inspires 75,000 youngsters over 40 years

American basketball coach Jimmy "Jumpshot" Smith joined forces with Nottingham Basketball Club back in the late 1970s, putting the county on the national stage by winning a series of championships.

Those early years of success set a series of events in motion that have resulted in an estimated 75,000 children being introduced to basketball in the Nottinghamshire and adjoining areas.

It started when Nottinghamshire County Council decided to support five minor sports back in the early 1980s. Jimmy "Jumpshot" Smith was appointed as the first ‘Basketball Development Officer’ hired by a local authority in the history of the game in the UK.

Jimmy immediately began working in partnership with Basketball England, Mini-Basketball England, Notts and Derbys Basketball Association and Nottinghamshire schools to develop programs to provide opportunities for young people.

Jimmy said: “We built networks in the schools, central venue leagues for boys, girls and under 12s national league squads, which were struggling for facilities until the Nottingham Wildcats Arena opened in 2001.

“Underpinning all of it were technical courses for coaches and officials. It took a huge amount of work from a whole community of dedicated people, including teachers, coaches, officials, administrators, volunteer parents and fundraisers.

“More children were being introduced to basketball and what we were finding out was that many of them were choosing basketball as their preferred sport and pursued careers in national teams and American college programmes."

In recent years, coach Jimmy "Jumpshot" has taught more than 2,000 children per academic year, including students in Mansfield.

Jimmy added: “The game of basketball should be accessible for whomever wants to learn and play.

“The biggest attraction to the game is that it's fun. And if it's fun, then let's try to be good at it?"