Sheffield Sharks basketball star launches global coaching initiative

B. Braun Sheffield Shark star Nicholas Lewis has developed a training and educational brand Make it Work Global, which aims to provide more basketball opportunities to youngsters.

It has already got partnerships with The Sheffield College basketball programme, the University of Bristol and Riverside Basketball Academy in London.

The 27-year-old, who is originally from Toronto, Canada, hopes to develop the brand to team up with other sports including football.

Nicholas, who played for the Sharks from 2012 to 2015 before rejoining in 2019, said: “We aim to provide more opportunities for the youth through sport. At the moment we’re focussing on basketball.

“We are working with institutions such as universities, colleges, high schools and sixth forms.

“We promote the teams as well as basketball which is a growth sport in the UK in terms of promoting the players.

“We also try to help these players receive connections to schools in the United States as some might want to play in a prep school and play in the National College Athletic Association.”

Nicholas said this would open the opportunity to provide scholarships for players to go to the United States and for American students to come to the UK.

Make It Work Global, which is already established in Springfield, Illinois, also wants to introduce a leadership programme, with an aim of connecting the youth internationally.

“We are also in the process of developing our international leadership program that focuses on teaching the youth in areas in which they may not be exposed to in a regular school day, such as leadership life, financial skills and social communication,” said Nicholas.

“The pupils are given a chance and opportunity to be able to speak to others pupils around the world.

“Really what that’s all about is kids being able to experience different things, hear different stories from around the world so they may become more sensitive and alert to other things not going around in their world,that other kids have to go through.

“Maybe things are easier for them or maybe harder than what they’re going through, but having these different stories getting told around the world, and bridge the gap in terms of the youth just understanding each other we can hope for a better future.”

Football is another sport Make it Work Global wants to develop as part of the brand and plans are being finalised to partner with a football agency and Futsal academy.

Nicholas added: “What’s unique about our program is that we are creating a way for youth to be able to connect to other pupils internationally through our innovative system.

“The main goal of this project is to broaden our youth’s horizon so that they can understand that any goal in life is achievable if they are able to ‘make it work’.

Make it Work Global has its own merchandise which it sells from its new website.

For more details visit https://www.make-it-work.global/collections/city-edition

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