Summer of Celebration – Shannon

Summer of Celebration: Shannon

 

“Basketball means everything to me. I love seeing the people I coach develop and grow. The sport is also my escape when I need some ‘me time’. Basketball has just completely changed my life. It feels like a second family.”

 

Shannon first got into basketball through the help of her Dundee & Angus College lecturer, Stephen Oakley. She was initially hesitant about coaching at Tayside Musketeers but eventually said yes and hasn’t looked back since.

Stephen spoke about Shannon by saying: “Her confidence was pretty low. She’d come through a variety of different courses [at college] and she needed something [to boost her confidence.]”

Shannon was searching for a new experience and fancied embarking on a new journey. She thought to herself why not embrace this new coaching opportunity. She more than embraced it. She took it and she ran with it. The result, an increase in basketball activity across all of Angus.

The region of Angus has benefitted from Shannon’s enthusiasm to coach. So has Shannon personally as coaching has also helped improve her self-confidence. At the start of last year, she was too nervous to coach in front of anyone but now she wants to get involved, coach anywhere, meet different people, gain new skills and develop as a person.

Shannon admitted that at first, she didn’t know how much of a positive impact sport can have on someone’s life. The response she receives from the people she coaches fills her with an overwhelming sense of joy and happiness as it allows her to realise how much her coaching is affecting people in positive ways.

In July 2020, Shannon won the Dundee & Angus College Principal’s Choice Award for her dedication to coaching basketball – including volunteering over 300 hours to the sport. basketballscotland would like to congratulate Shannon on winning this award. We are proud to have you as a member of our community.

See more of Shannon’s story here