Ben Leitch was doing what he loved and doing it rather well.
Óscar Trigo Diez, the head coach of UNES FC Barcelona wheelchair team, was watching intently from the sidelines and becoming more impressed with every passing phase of play.
He had not so long ago led the Spanish men’s national team to fourth place at the 2020 Summer Paralympics in Tokyo so knows a thing or two about the sport and what talent represents.
As Leitch left the court at the Palau Municipal d’Esports Juan Carlos Navarro arena, soon a question would come his way that was simply irresistible to turn down.
“I was over in Barcelona in June with the under-25 Scotland squad,” Leitch (20) explained to the Perthshire Advertiser.
“I was there as part of an Erasmus trip, which is a project involving education as well.
“We played games against different clubs and the Barcelona coach, Oscar, was taking our sessions.
“I went over originally to network and my plan was to stay another year in Scotland. I wasn’t going to Spain with any intentions of getting a contract.
“But after our final game, Oscar asked me to come and play for them.
“I came back and found out more detail but, to be honest, I think I had already made my mind up.”
Leitch, from Perth and a former St John’s Academy student, had indeed made his mind up and has now signed a professional contract with UNES FC Barcelona. He jets out at the end of this month.
“When I first started wheelchair basketball and realised I could take it somewhere or do something with it, then it was always a dream to play abroad or professionally in a league somewhere,” Leitch said.
“I have been given the opportunity to do that now and at quite a young age still. It is good to know that, working towards my goals, I’ve been on the right path. The opportunity is massive.
“The team has a lot of potential and Spain is one of the best leagues in the world for wheelchair basketball. To be part of that is incredible.
“With Barca being in the second division, rather than the top-flight, it also gives me a team that I can stay with for longer and hopefully become a key part of the squad.
“I go on holiday for two weeks, come back, then will be straight out to Barcelona at the end of October.
“There is a game on October 29 so they want me to be out for then. It will be straight into playing.”
The experience off the court is one Leitch will savour too.
Aside from being in touching distance of famous attractions such as the Sagrada Família, La Rambla and Park Guell, he is keen to embrace being part of a new community.
“It will be crazy being over there,” smiled Leitch, who is a personal trainer and has been a familiar face at the Club 300 gym in Perth.
“I guess the weather will be one of the biggest changes. It is a nice city with a lot of history.
“There are a lot of places to see and things to do. I’m going out there with my partner and that means I’ll have a familiar face with me too.
“Myself and my mum organised a party on Saturday past and invited everyone from the gym, people I have played basketball with over the years, friends and family.
“There were a lot of people there so I could say a little goodbye, which was nice.”
That Leitch has reached this level of success really comes as no surprise. He has been dedicated to continually improving and his journey in the sport reflects that.
As soon as he was introduced to wheelchair basketball, he knew it was the start of something special.
He knew he had discovered a fresh passion to first fully enjoy but, second, one where the opportunities to progress through the ranks fuelled determination.
“I had an operation to remove a cancerous tumour in my leg,” Ben recalls, opening the story as to how he became involved in wheelchair basketball.
“I started playing normal basketball as a non-contact sport but couldn’t really run or keep up with anyone else. It was a bit of a struggle.
“That is when I started playing wheelchair basketball and, from the first session, I thought: ‘This is it’.
“Once I started to get into the Scotland set-up or GB juniors, that helped me push more.
“It has been difficult recently with Covid but positives come out of negatives for the most part. That is how I look at it.
“My motivation has stayed consistent across the board. I’ve actually probably become more determined and more hungry to train.
“And I try to coach whenever I can or give back because I know how people have supported me throughout my whole journey.”
As his departure date grows nearer, excitement levels naturally begin to rise.
This latest sporting and life experience will hopefully open up even more doors in the future. Leitch is ambitious and rightly so.
“This season and year coming I would love to see myself going over to Barcelona and help them get promoted,” he said. “That is the biggest thing.
“It would be good for me personally but for the club’s growth too.
“Longer-term within the sport, I would love to represent GB at a Paralympic level. I have my eyes on the Paris Paralympics and that has been a goal for a little while.
“Sadly we just missed out on the Birmingham Commonwealth Games in the qualifiers this year so it would be massive to help Scotland get to the 2026 Games in Victoria.”
As this reporter prepares to stop pestering Leitch for more words, one final question arises on how he feels about his journey in the sport so far.
He smiled: “Pride is probably the best way to put it.
“I’m proud of where I’ve come from and how I’ve progressed during my time within the sport.”
