After representing England in a recent Four Nations Basketball tournament, and being spotted by GB selectors, Bramcote’s Nick Wild is certainly a rising star to watch out for!
Following his success, Nick has recently been added to our Eligible Athlete scheme, which provides support and training to Nottinghamshire athletes.
Standing at 6’9” and just 16 years old, Nick has always been taller than all of his peers, so basketball seemed like an obvious sport for him to pursue. Nick represented the England under-16 Basketball team in April as they headed out to Dublin to compete in the Four Nations tournament and from this tournament, he caught the GB selectors’ eyes. Following this Nick was invited to GB training camps and a trip to Luxembourg in July to represent GB for the under-16s.
Lleisure has always been part of Nick’s story since he was just 5 years old when Nick was taken on by coach Tracey West from the local basketball club, Chilwell Comets who train at Chilwell Olympia. The Comets are an inclusive, community club giving the perfect start to both aspiring athletes and officials for over 30 years. Nick stayed at the Comets for 5 years, competing in the Nottinghamshire Open under-12s league and representing Nottinghamshire at County competitions, coached by Austin Grant.
Nick then moved to Derby Trailblazers Basketball Club at age 10 in order to compete in National League competitions and went on to represent the East Midlands region in Basketball England’s Aspire programme.
As part of Nick’s ongoing development he will now be part of the Derby Trailblazers Basketball Academy, who compete in the Elite Academy Basketball League (EABL), the highest college league in England.
Nick has become a regular face at Bramcote Leisure Centre’s gym over the summer getting the pre-season work in ahead of what will be a busy season balancing his studies and basketball commitments. Who knows where this journey will lead, maybe to playing College Basketball in America, maybe to a team in the UK or Europe. But for now, Lleisure will be behind Nick as he prepares for a new season competing as an under-18 in the EABL and the National Basketball League.
Best of luck for the new season Nick, we will be cheering you on.
You can follow Nick on Instagram @gingerbballer
