As an aspiring basketball coach in his teens and early 20s, Alex Sarama was often met with snickers when he talked about the game he loved. For the British-born Sarama, who on 28 October was named the head coach of the WNBA\u2019s newest expansion team, the Portland Fire, people doubted him before he even put two sentences together.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere was a lot of skepticism,\u201d he tells the Guardian. \u201cA lot of coaches heard the accent and they\u2019d say straight away this Alex guy can\u2019t coach!\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarama, however, would not be dissuaded.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo, it\u2019s been great!\u201d he says with a laugh. \u201cIt\u2019s given me a real chip on my shoulder to go the extra mile to make sure I\u2019m meticulous knowing my stuff. Because at the end of the day, the players don\u2019t care. The players just respect you if you\u2019re competent, if you make them better.\u201d<\/p>\n
All joking aside, it\u2019s true. It\u2019s not every day that you see a British basketball coach make it in the US. But that\u2019s exactly what Sarama has achieved. While his homeland has never been known as a hotbed for basketball, he\u2019s made a name for himself.<\/p>\n
Growing up, though, Sarama played soccer and tennis. While basketball is a religion to many in the United States, It was never nearly as important in the UK. Still, as he got older, the game drew Sarama in.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think the fact that basketball wasn\u2019t as popular made me even more determined,\u201d he says. \u201cEven when all my friends were playing other sports.\u201d<\/p>\n
Indeed, where there\u2019s a will there\u2019s a way.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think because basketball in the UK is less developed, it actually awarded me more unique opportunities to accelerate my coaching career,\u201d the 30-year-old says, reflecting on his journey. \u201cWhen I was 15, I knew I was never going to be good enough to be a professional player. But I thought that coaching would be the best way to have a career at the highest level.\u201d<\/p>\n
In need of an outlet, Sarama was in his mid-teens when he started his own basketball club, the Guildford Goldhawks. In just a few years, he grew it to be one of the bigger youth teams in the United Kingdom. \u201cWe actually won the national championship for the under-14 girls team,\u201d he says. \u201cThat was my first experience coaching girls basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
In his early 20s, Sarama continued his education at the University of Nottingham, studying history. He also coached \u2013 some of the players were nearly twice his age. He garnered important experience. \u201cIf I was in [a bigger basketball market like] Serbia, Spain or Lithuania, I would never have had those chances to coach,\u201d he says. \u201cTo lead.\u201d<\/p>\n
From there, he managed to make the leap to the highest level of basketball: the NBA. He worked in the league\u2019s international office, starting in London, before moving to Madrid and Antwerp. When he came to America, he worked in player development with the G-league\u2019s Rip City Remix and then got a job with the Cleveland Cavaliers.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe resources are very different in the UK,\u201d Sarama says. \u201cThe universities \u2013 it\u2019s not professionalized like it is in the US. For a lot of universities, it\u2019s more for participation, rather than elite performance.\u201d<\/p>\n
The new head coach for the Fire, though, says that Britain does have a lot of potential when it comes to hoops. He goes as far as to call the country a \u201csleeping giant\u201d when it comes to basketball. \u201cI think it has so much potential with the players,\u201d he says, \u201cand some really good coaches who mean well. We just need as a country to prioritize a lot more coaching education and development.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarama says he does maintain hope for the sport to grow there, however.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think there\u2019s no reason why England couldn\u2019t be a great basketball country,\u201d he says. \u201cIt\u2019s going to require a lot of intentional work to get things moving in the right direction. One day I would love to be a part of that and really initiate some positive transformations.\u201d<\/p>\n