Words by BE Future Youth Committee Member Esha Nayar
Growing up, Patel played the sport through the junior age groups.
It was not until university that he started coaching, after receiving a partial scholarship to coach and play.
He had plans to become a PE teacher but would continue to coach at grassroots level, taking his U14s boys' team all the way to the final eight. He would never leave coaching.
"I was offered the job to assist Loughborough’s women’s team, but I’d never coached girls before, said Patel.
"I would work 8-4 as a teaching assistant and then drive to Loughborough and coach 6-10 every day."
Patel was working towards his teaching qualification when he received a phone call from the Leicester Riders that would change everything.
"They said they were going to start the academy for the women and asked if I wanted to help.
"Initially, there were only four girls, but as the weeks went on, I managed to build it up. We had one of the strongest programmes in the country."
Unsure of which path to take, he turned to his mentor for advice.
"He said, 'you can be a PE teacher anytime, but you can’t be a basketball coach all the time, so go and give it ago', so I went to Charnwood."
The rest is history.
Patel would go on to coach their WBBL team and would later oversee the whole programme before heading to Sweden, where he would make more history before returning to his home club.
Accolades continued to grow. This summer he head coached the Great Britain women’s 3X3 team, U18 Women's team and assisted the senior women’s GB team.
The past season saw him as an assistant coach for the London Lions team that made an historic EuroCup run.
Whilst the win caught the media by storm, but outlets failed to pick up the personal milestone made by Patel.
"I was the first ever British Asian to win the EuroCup and no one said a thing."
The 34-year-old was also the first British Asian to win a national title in mainstream sport, with the Riders in 2018, as well as the first British Asian to have coached a national team.
Patel is a pioneer for British Asians in sport. The majority of the milestones he has achieved have gone unnoticed, but he continues to break glass ceilings.
"I want to help inspire others and I want more South Asians to be involved in basketball," said Patel.
Despite this, the number of South Asians in sport remains low, something which Sporting Equals CEO Arun Kang OBE commented on, saying: "You need representation at every level, players, board level, but especially senior coaches."
Krumesh Patel embodies everything a role model should be to inspire others, and believes he can have an influence.
"I feel anyone that can have an influence in a cultural area that’s doing well, we should really celebrate them.
"Maybe I've not been at the level or profile I need to be. But if we don't use who we have within the sport to encourage others to be part of it, how can we keep pushing it?"
From grassroots to senior international, Patel has been involved at both ends of the spectrum and has seen first hand who the sports’ player base is made up of.
As he continues to progress in his career, he hopes that he can continue to inspire others:
"I'm just going to keep working hard, keep doing what's best for the people around me.
"If I keep getting up higher, my profile alone will speak and that'll inspire others."
Header image - British Basketball Federation
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