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12 September 2025  4 min read

Basketball England appoint four full-time Regional Talent Managers

Previously part-time roles, the organisation has made the move to offer further support to clubs and players involved along the Pathway. 

Wayne Brooks (Central) will continue his role as a previous RTM, while Mike Meister (London), Daniel Petts (South) and Darren Taylor (North) all come into post on the 1st October 2025.  

Basketball England’s Head of Talent and Performance Steve Bucknall said: “Turning RTMs into a full-time position is the single biggest lever to make our pathway live where it matters, inside clubs, with coaches and around players.  

“This change means more visits, better coaching support, faster and fairer selections, and ultimately more English players ready for Great Britain performance demands. 

“My thanks also go to Neal Hopkins (North), James Vear (London) and James Bamfield (South) for their efforts and dedication as outgoing RTMs.” 

The move to make RTMs into a full-time role was based on a number of factors: 

• “More reach, less miss”. Full-time RTMs can spend more time in clubs and observing competitions, providing a wider net for talent identification. 

• More visits and coach mentoring means better practice environments aligned to ‘The GB Way’. 

• The new RTM roles are more closely aligned to the GB Pathway Manager post, strengthening the links between the BE Talent Pathway and GB teams. 

• Cleaner, faster selections. Consistent scouting and live depth charts improves fairness and speed of selection and inclusion. 

• More RTM capacity means an increased ability to serve hard-to-reach areas and reduces travel burdens for players, coaches and families. 

Wayne Brooks continues his role in the Central region. Formerly an England U14 and U16 team manager (2023–25), he founded Tamworth Grassroots Basketball Academy and coached Tamworth Tigers U14s to the Midlands title. 

Mike Meister is a London-based Coach Assessor and Mentor with Basketball England’s London Coaches Program and the London Regional Management Committee’s secretary and refereeing coordinator. He also leads operations for the London Region Women’s 3x3 League. 

With over 20 years of experience across the sport in the UK and US, his roles include founder of Thunder Sports Institute, Head Coach/GM of the Southwest Texas Mustangs, Assistant Coach at Willamette University, and game-day management with Greenhouse Sports.  

An evidence-led developer, he has presented an innovative athletic programme at the Arizona AHPERD Conference and contributed coaching articles to STACK.com. 

South’s Daniel Petts is a British coach and performance analyst with more than 12 years’ experience across Spain’s ACB and the UK pathways.  

He is Lecturer in Performance Analysis at St Mary’s University and a Talent & Insights Officer with Basketball England. He served as Great Britain U16 Men’s Head Coach (2024–25), previously England U14 Boys Head Coach and GB U20 and U16 assistant.  

In 2025 he led the London Lions Senior Women and was Associate Head Coach at Caledonia Gladiators (2023–24).  

Earlier, Petts spent nine seasons at Monbus Obradoiro (ACB) as Assistant Coach and Head of Scouting, guiding youth teams to Spanish Championships and progressing players to national teams’ representation.  

He holds MScs in Performance Analysis and Big Data in Sport, plus Level 3 coaching certifications in both Spain and the UK.  

North’s Darren Taylor is Basketball England’s Camp Director for the Yorkshire Aspire region and North Super Region, where he has delivered 11 Aspire camps, selected 80+ pathway athletes, and led a six-coach staff while overseeing welfare, risk, and venue logistics, including Yorkshire 3x3 tournaments.  

He has been the Head Coach for the University of York (Men’s Tier 2 runners-up; Women’s first season in Tier 1) and clubs including York Vikings, York Eagles, and Leeds Demons, achieving multiple promotions and titles.  

A Level 2 coach (Level 3 in progress), he holds a BA (Hons) in Sports, Recreation & Development and serves as Vice President of United Through Sport Mauritius, supporting their U17 national teams.