Ipswich Basketball Club is delighted to announce the appointment of Danny Manning to the position of U12 Boys Head Coach.
Danny has been with the club for a number of years, having played through the junior programme, academy and making his debut for the Senior Men during the 2019/2020 season.
As a player, Danny has enjoyed a junior career that saw him play a major role on two Ipswich teams that went all the way to the Final Four, both as an u13 back in 2015, and as an u16 in 2018. He has also played a key role for IBA this past season, helping the team to the semi-final stage of the EABL, before the team eventually bowed out to Barking Abbey.
As a coach, despite his tender age, Danny has shown a great interest developing others. While as a student at Kesgrave High School, he volunteered his services to the PE department, ultimately helping, by coaching the school to a Year 9 National Schools Championship in 2018. More recently, he has been involved with Suffolk County teams, and has led the Playground to Pro ‘Centre of Excellence’ for the past year, helping the youngest players in the programme start their basketball journey.
In the summer of 2019, Danny completed his Level Two Coaching Certificate, and with another year at the academy to complete, the eighteen year old was successful in his application to lead an IBC junior team. “Danny has been part of the Ipswich programme for many years, he has essentially been right through the pathway. I need to be clear, he still has a great deal to offer as a player, but it is clear that he has a flair and a passion for coaching and so we felt that we should give him this opportunity. It means that if and when Danny heads off to University after his time at Copleston come’s to an end, he will be even better equipped to contribute to a programme” says Ipswich Head Coach Nick Drane.
“I’ve been lucky enough to have experienced playing for some excellent coaches through my year’s at Ipswich. The blue print has been laid out in terms of how to become a successful coach at this club. I’m excited to give that a go with a group of boys that are about to start the journey that I have enjoyed so much throughout my time as part of the Ipswich Basketball Family” Said Danny. In addition to having played for a number of the clubs junior team coaches, Danny will unquestionably be able to draw on the experiences of his Father, Kevin Manning, who has been involved with the clubs coaching staff for many years, including guiding the u14 girls to the National Championship game in 2019.
Ipswich continue their search for more coaches as the club aims to run two teams at the U14 and U16 boys age groups. We also have a number of position’s available as assistant coaches for the 2020/2021 season.
Anyone interested in working as a volunteer coach at Ipswich Basketball Club please contact office@ipswichbasketball.co.uk
