L – R: Eagles player Kyle Johnson, Dame Allan’s boys Adam, Owen, Joseph and Eagles Head Coach Marc Steutel.

Dame Allan’s Schools have once again partnered with Newcastle Eagles, one of the country’s most successful basketball teams. 

Based at Newcastle’s Vertu Motors Arena, the Eagles play in both the British Basketball League and the Women’s British Basketball League. Their partnership with Dame Allan’s aims to raise awareness of the sport amongst pupils and increase participation. 

Earlier this week, a group of sixth form students were lucky enough to enjoy a training session and masterclass at the arena with Eagles and GB Head Coach, Marc Steutel, and their latest signing Kyle Johnson, who also plays for The Eagles and Team GB. 

There, they took part in some drills and shot some hoops as a team, learning transferable skills including teamwork, dedication and commitment. Basketball is already a popular sport amongst Dame Allan’s pupils, with some even being part of the Eagles’ youth academy. 

Dame Allan’s have also increased their co-curricular provision to include basketball. Vice Principal and former semi-professional basketball player, Alan Hopper, leads the schools’ highly successful basketball teams across the senior school, with sessions taking place at lunchtimes and after school.

However, this partnership goes further, offering pupils the chance to experience training and playing in a professional arena, learning from professionals in their field and having the opportunity to see The Eagles play first-hand. 

Alan said: ‘Basketball is a great sport for young people to get involved with as it builds their team-working skills, resilience and confidence. It’s great for them to be given the opportunity to spend time and train with a professional team to inspire them to be the best players they can be.’ 

We spoke to some of the boys who took part in the session and they thoroughly enjoyed it. 

Thai, from Y11 said he regularly plays basketball with friends on a weekend and to be given the opportunity to train with a professional team was great. Matthew said he enjoyed the drills and being able to shoot in professional hoops. 

Training with professional basketball players is a brilliant opportunity for our pupils and expands their sporting options outside the remit of the already broad PE and Games offerings at the school. 

We are delighted to be partnering with Newcastle Eagles and wish them every luck in the rest of their sporting season.