Mark Claydon and Patrick Murray have recently founded a new Basketball Club in Glossop, called the Glossopdale Hoops. 

The club has been running for just over four months now and has teams across all primary school age groups, running from year one up to year six. The team train on Tuesday nights at Glossopdale High School from 4:30 until 6 and anyone is welcome to come down.

Mark Claydon, the founder of the team says he wanted to put the team together due to the lack of opportunities in the area for certain age groups, “There are three basketball teams already in Glossop, but they only cover high school kids, and so there are no facilities for everyone else, such as primary school kids, so that was my motivation for starting the team”, said Mark.

The team has been going since November and interest in the club is rising week by week, “We started off playing on a third of a court and only ten kids turned up to our first training session, now we’ve got a full court, and so many kids wanting to play, on Tuesday nights we get up to 40 now”, stated Mark.

Patrick Murray, one of the coaches at the club revealed how he managed to get former Manchester Giants and Team GB basketball star, Daniel Michaelson-Yeates to come down to one of the teams’ training sessions, “Me and Dan have known each other since we were kids, so I asked if he wouldn’t mind coming along to one of the sessions”. “It was amazing, the kids were hanging onto his every word and couldn’t wait to get pictures with his jerseys”. “I think it’s because the NBA is so far away for them, so having a Manchester Giant walk into just a normal session on a Tuesday night was fantastic for them”, noted Patrick.

Patrick joined the coaching team in January and says he did so because he missed being involved in the sport, “I used to play basketball as a kid but I stopped after a while, and this has brought back my love for the sport”.

Both coaches were keen to highlight the importance of children having access to sports teams, like the Glossopdale Hoops, “Recreational activity is crucial, not only for physical health but mental health as well”, said Mark. “It also allows you to make friends, which is so important, here the kids have created some lovely friend groups despite not knowing each other at the start”, he added.

Patrick also touched on the benefits sport can have on children, “We’ve had so many parents say they can’t believe how much their kids have come out of their shell since joining the team”. “Their confidence levels have improved so much”.

Due to the generosity of the supporters, Glossopdale Hoops have managed to purchase brand-new team kits, with their team logo printed on the front. The logo itself was designed by one of the players on the team, nine-year-old Clay, who won the competition for the best logo design. Everyone at Glossopdale Hoops is extremely proud of him.

The club is currently looking for some extra funding, which Mark says would go towards reducing subscription fees for players, “We have to charge a subscription fee at the moment, and it would be amazing if we didn’t have to do that”. “We just want to get as many kids as we can in that sports hall, having fun, for as cheap as possible”, said Mark.

If anyone would like to help the club out or get involved with the team in any way, please contact the club via Facebook, by searching ‘Glossopdale Hoops’. Alternatively, you can contact the coach, Mark, on 07818598636.

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