Chris Leonard
BUCS First Team Head Coach
Chris is a Level 2 Qualified Coach with Basketball England and has recently moved into a coaching role after wrapping up a 26-year journey as a player. Chris began playing in the National League for Crystal Palace at u18 level (back in 1995!) and, after two seasons, followed it up with a year playing at High School level in Oklahoma, USA. Upon returning to England, he attended Brunel University – where he captained the basketball 1st team – and earned a BA in American Studies, which also included a year of study (and, of course, basketball) at Louisiana College, USA. Since then, he has competed in every level of the English National League, having played for London-based teams Kingston Wildcats and Sutton Pumas, as well as several teams in the North West after moving to Liverpool in 2005, achieving a Master’s Degree at John Moore’s University. Most notably, Chris was on the Liverpool Basketball Club team that won the National Patron’s Cup in 2006 and, more recently, played for Sefton Stars and Warrington Wolves (where he first made acquaintance with UoC Head Coach, Niel Gillard). Between 2012-2017, Chris took a work opportunity in the Netherlands where he also continued his ongoing passion for basketball, playing for his local club (“Tilburg High Five”) in the Dutch National League, 2nd Division. While here, he was also able to get his first taste of coaching, taking over the u16 team as Head Coach (winning the South Regional League in his first season) and serving as an assistant coach for the Club’s u20 team. He is now in his second stint working at the University of Chester and brings a wealth of basketball knowledge and experience to the Men’s 1stTeam.
