Men’s Coaches

Chris is Head Coach for the Men’s Basketball Programme and is a UKCC Level 3 Coach. Chris has coached basketball for over 15 years at all ages groups from primary school to senior men.  He has coached and mentored many players that have represented junior national teams and gained scholarships in US colleges.  There are a number of Chris’ former junior players now playing professionally in Europe. His previous experience includes Assistant Coach to Wales U20 Men’s team, North West Regional Boys Assistant Coach, winning the Basketball England U16 Boys National Cup and reaching 3 National Finals as the Head Coach of U16 and U18 Boys teams. Since joining the programme in 2012, the University has won the British Universities and Colleges Sport Northern Conference League 2A twice, and back to back BUCS Northern Conference Cups in 2017 and 2018. He also played a pivotal role in the University entering a team, comprising of current students and alumni, into the Basketball England National League in 2014 which has complemented the current programme by enabling students to compete at a high-level more regularly. The team were instantly successful winning the Division 4 North West Division, reaching the Playoff Final and gaining promotion to Division 3. In 2018/19 season, the University of Chester were crowned National Shield and Division 3 North Champions, culminating in Chris being awarded Division 3 North Coach of the Year.

Niel is the Coach of the BUCS First Team and UKCC Level 3 Coach. He joined the basketball programme as a player in October 2011 after a successful junior career which included representing the England National Teams at U16 and U18 age groups. Alongside studying his undergraduate degree he played for a range of Club teams including the Cheshire Phoenix in the British Basketball League and Manchester Magic of the National Basketball League. He graduated from Chester in 2014 with a degree in law and commenced studying towards a PhD in Law. As a player, Niel has helped the team to win BUCS Northern Division 2A, Northern Conference Cup, NBL Division 4, NBL Division 3 and the National Shield, and won NBL Division 4 Player of the Year. He began coaching the BUCS First Team in 2017/18. In his debut season as Coach, the BUCS First team won the Northern Conference 2A earning promotion to Division 1A and won the BUCS Northern Conference Cup. In his second season, the team reach the quarter-finals of the BUCS Trophy and finished 3rd in Division 1, missing out on the top spot in the final game of the season.

Student Coaches

Our Women’s Team and Men’s BUCS Second Team are coached by students.