A U.K. basketball coach brought an international perspective to Saskatchewan this week, helping young players sharpen their skills while providing training for coaches. Rikki Broadmore said his trip to Saskatchewan with his No More Secret tour came about after an invitation from his friend, Golden Tickets Sports founder Tanner Brightman. “He’s organized a great trip. For the last nine days, I visited a number of different programs,” Broadmore said. Broadmore is the founder of Secret Trainer, an international basketball development platform, and coaches at Barking Abbey Basketball Academy, an elite sports and academic program in East London. The tour began Nov. 2, with Broadmore leading clinics in Regina, Swift Current, Medicine Hat, Lloydminster, Prince Albert and Saskatoon. He said what stood out most about Saskatchewan was its wide-open spaces and beautiful scenery. “There’s so much space and all the roads are straight, which is incredible for me,” he said. Broadmore made his final stop in Saskatoon, leading a coaches clinic Saturday night and a players clinic Sunday at Bedford Road Collegiate. The clinic gave players a chance to practise and refine their skills. “I’m trying to put them into an environment where they can solve their own problems. So my whole ethos and my methodology is about them playing as much as physically possible,” he said. “I’m fully aware that I’m not going to make these players better within two hours. So my whole aim is to make sure that I give them the tools to work out by themselves to get better.” Saskatoon Minor Basketball Association president Greg Jockims said the organization is always looking for development opportunities for coaches and players, and welcomed the chance to bring Broadmore in for a clinic. Jockims said the organization has received plenty of positive feedback. “I think the opportunity to be in a developmental environment like this, where kids get to learn how to play basketball, get to touch the ball a lot, and get different perspective from coaches all around the world is a great opportunity,” he said.
