Announced at a prestigious ceremony in Leeds on the 10 December 2024 – hosted by the UK’s leading organisation for coaches of sport and physical activity – Williams was honoured with the award to mark her ingenuity and passion to see other coaches succeed in basketball.
As a valued member of the LCP, Williams has honed the coaching skills of over 130 Londoners aged 16-30, adding to the thousands of coaches she has mentored as one of Basketball England’s coach education tutors during her career – providing them all with the tools, techniques and strategies to enhance their basketball player development philosophy.
“I am emotional because you do so much and you do it because you love it, and you do it because it's the right thing to do. And you don't expect a pat on the back. It’s actually nice to have an award with my name on it. I’ve been doing it for years and no one's ever said, 'we see you we see what you're doing, and we appreciate you'.
“It’s good to be able to represent basketball in a positive way so that other sports can see that basketball is doing things the right way and getting the recognition that we truly deserve. We do good things, and we need to shout about it as much as we possibly can.”
The Croydon College sports lecturer has recently set up a female sports coaching collective to help women and girls to come together to talk about coaching, and the issues and struggles they have faced.
This year, Williams ran an all-female coaching session as part of the LCP. The cohort of 25+ coaches, included women from across London of all different ages, and religious and ethnic backgrounds.
Williams, the co-head coach of the London All-Star women’s team, who play in National Basketball League, as well as in the London Metropolitan Basketball League has a keen focus for the team in engaging and empowering women and girls into basketball and building an environment that supports the development of women in sport.
Also honoured on the night was Kiran Wiltshire, who was a finalist in the Community Coach of the Year – Children and Young People category.
Although she was pipped to the gong by rowing coach Hannah Vines, the Tudor Grange Samworth Academy with Greenhouse Sports head basketball coach was selected as a finalist by the judging panel for her person-centred, holistic coaching, which includes mindfulness, yoga, and opportunities for creative expression, that has had a transformative impact on her students, nurturing their physical, emotional and mental health.
Wiltshire’s dedication has kept students engaged in sport and education and providing students with a sense of purpose and belonging, helping to create a positive, supportive school culture and ensure that students feel comfortable with sharing their views and contributing to sessions.
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