Reading Rockets Basketball Club will be launching their first ever wheelchair basketball team this season which will comprise of both a Division 1 and 2 set up. This is an extremely exciting move forward for the club and they are thrilled to have Coach Barker and his coaching team on board.
Grant Barker Head Coach of the newly added Rockets Wheelchair Basketball Club said:
“We are really excited to be joining the Reading Rockets as their wheelchair basketball team and look forward to bringing the wheelchair and running game together within one club.
Its a wonderful opportunity to bring wheelchair basketball to the heart of Reading and to be able to showcase our amazing sport and athletes at such a huge and well established club within Reading will certainly help further raise the profile of the sport.”
Grant started his Coaching journey at the well known and respected Thames Valley Kings for 10 years before bringing his passion closer to his family home in Reading.
The TV Kings had great success over many years and many Divisions and can also pride itself on being the starting place for many wheelchair basketball players young and old including both of Grants sons Liam and Reece and more recently Rockets very own Steph Johnson who will provide the link between the 2 programmes as she continues her own journey in the wheeled game.
Barker continued: “ I have seen first hand how important it is for young disabled people to have an active goal to strive towards and Reading Rockets are giving us another opportunity to continue the work previously done by the Kings and progress on to work alongside a Nationally recognised basketball programme, and use the support of 25 years experience which will be invaluable.”
The Division 1 team will be playing their games at Loddon valley Leisure centre where fans can purchase game tickets online via the Rockets website and the division 2 team will play their games out of FBC Sports Hall, Wokingham. This is an amazing opportunity for all basketball fans to watch an incredible sport played at National League level. Here is to a really exciting 23/24 season.