Sam Jones, headteacher of Kelmscott School, will be heading to the FIMBA Basketball Championships in Switzerland this summer after being selected to represent the Team GB over-50s, writes Sophie Mitchell
Sam Jones, headteacher of Kelmscott School in Walthamstow, will be heading to the FIMBA Basketball Championships in Switzerland this summer after being selected to represent the Team GB over 50s.
The PE teacher has been training with Kelmscott’s Year 11 basketball team in preparation, and he hopes his achievement has made them “proud” and “inspired”. He hasn’t yet announced the news to the entire student body, but prides himself on being “a strong role model for our young people”, showing them “that goals can be pursued and reached at any stage in life.”
He was “super proud to be selected” out of an initial squad of 20, which got narrowed down to twelve for the Swiss tournament: “It started to feel real at the kit ceremony where our kits were presented to us by the coach”, Sam adds.
The headteacher credits his love of teaching to coaching younger teams while at university, where he played in the National Basketball League for Plymouth Raiders. Sam, whose favourite basketball player of all time is Michael Jordan, says competitive sport has always been a part of his life, adding: “Maintaining my fitness and competing competitively not only helps my physical health but also supports my mental health.”
The Team GB over-50s will be playing seven matches in seven days between 27th June and 6th July. Ahead of the tournament, he says he feels “a mixture of nerves and excitement”.
He adds: “Pulling on the vest for the first time in an international tournament will be a very proud moment for me.” The first game for Great Britain will be against Serbia, who he says “look very big” but he is “raring to go.”
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