Wheelchair Basketball will make its debut as a Commonwealth Games sport later this year.
The version of the game will be 3x3 and Team NI are hoping to send a men’s and women’s team to Birmingham, but they will have to negotiate a qualifying tournament in Glasgow next month which was postponed over Christmas.
Disability Sport Northern Ireland’s wheelchair basketball performance officer Phil Robinson is no stranger to helping home athletes win medals.
Read more: Netball Northern Ireland qualify for Commonwealth Games
He has worked closely with James MacSorley who was part of the Great Britain team that won the World Championship in 2018 and also claimed a bronze medal at the Tokyo Olympics last summer.
Robinson has also coached Katie Morrow, an Under 25 world champion and a European bronze medallist.
However, Robison’s sporting journey began of the football pitch and not the basketball court.
“I was always a big fan of football when I was younger. I played for Carnmoney Colts, Ballyclare youth teams and Crusaders youth teams,” said Robinson.
“I maybe wasn’t good enough to pursue a career in sport. I attended Glengormley High School, the teaching staff there were brilliant, and they were really keen on people becoming PE teachers or teachers and they pushed us into doing some coaching awards one of which was football.
“I started coaching at 16 for the high school, going around the likes of Ballyhenry Primary School and others in the greater Glengormley and Carnmoney area to do some coaching with the young kids and I fell in love with it.
“I fell in love with the process, the fun and all the enjoyment that comes along with being a coach and involved in sport on a daily basis. Being creative with it really excited me so from that point forward it was either go into teaching or become a sports coach, so the teachers at school had a massive impact on me.
“At school we were encouraged to try as many sports as possible, so I got some badges in rugby, football, basketball and athletics one as well and it was all about broadening your experiences. I did my A level in PE and continued on that coaching journey.”
Robinson’s next port of call was Liverpool University and despite supporting the Anfield Reds he ended up working for Everton.
“When I was in Liverpool, I took on different opportunities but the one that stood out most was working with Everton Football Club," he added.
“They had a thing at Goodison Park called the Extra Time programme and part of it was working with disaffected youth or people that weren’t really engaging with school.
“They would come into the school they had built at Goodison and it would enhance their learning through sport so everything mathematical or English was based around football, so it was about encouraging people to engage with sport as well continuing with their education.
“It was brilliant, and I really enjoyed it but all the time I felt I was missing out on something and when the degree finished, I wanted to get back home and see if I could do something in sport back Northern Ireland.
“An opportunity came up in Disability Sport NI for a wheelchair basketball performance officer and I thought I have to have a go at it because I have nothing to lose.”
Robinson feels the inclusion of wheelchair basketball for the time in 2022 Commonwealth Games will be a huge boost for the sport.
“It is really historic for the sport, and it is a real privilege for someone like me to be involved in and be fortunate enough to put structures in place to allow players to go over and perform hopefully after we have qualified," he said.
“The qualification is key and we are focused on that in terms of developing the team and the new style of play. Historically we have played 5x5 but this new format of 3x3 is something different, the offensive time is different, the size of court is different and the number of players on court is different so there are a lot of exciting challenges and I think both the men and the women’s squads have an opportunity to qualify for the games.
“I’m really buzzing that we have the opportunity to represent our country at some level of competition whether that is the qualifiers or hopefully at the Commonwealth Games.”
“For the first time there is an elite pathway for a Northern Irish squad, so we have players that have played for GB.”
“Players that have played for Ireland and we have been able to amalgamate everybody which is really exciting.”
Read more: Commonwealth Games 2022: Fionnuala Toner hoping to make her mark in Birmingham
Read more: Team NI confirms its lawn bowls line-up for 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham
Sign up to our free sports newsletter to get the latest headlines to your inbox.
