U.K. University classes and sporting fixtures are paused each year between mid December and late January for a short Christmas holiday.
This short break provides student-athletes with the chance to reconnect with family and take some time off for the holidays. Play Overseas men’s basketballer, Keith Claiborne, used this break in his schedule to put together a highlight video of the first half of his U.K. season.
Keith’s Story:
Before coming to the U.K. Keith played college basketball for Hood College in Maryland and graduated with a degree in Business Administration. After graduating in 2020, Keith then went on to spend a year in full-time employment. Whilst working, Keith wanted to find an opportunity to return to competitive basketball, but was also weighing up the possibility of attending grad school. After connecting with the staff at Play Overseas, it had seemed that Keith had found the perfect option. Moving to the U.K. to play as a postgraduate student-athlete would offer the perfect combination of experiencing basketball in a new country, whilst also securing a graduate degree in just 12 months.
The Play Overseas staff were able to help Keith secure a variety of different options that would allow him to compete at a high level and pursue a master’s degree in his preferred subject area. Keith arrived in the U.K. last September and is currently working towards his Master’s Degree in Sports Coaching & Pedagogy. During his time in the U.K. to date, Keith has been able to experience playing basketball for both his U.K. university and for a club in the UK National Basketball League. With this schedule, Keith would typically play twice per week alongside his studies, competing in a league against other U.K. university basketball teams and in a further league against some of the best club sides from across the South of the U.K.
Upon completing his master’s degree later this year Keith will spend some time exploring the possibility of pursuing a professional contract overseas. Beyond this, his longer term goal is to use his master’s degree and his experience as a college athlete, both overseas and in the US, to work within the sports industry.
Could you be next? How we can help you to play basketball and study overseas?
We work directly with university basketball teams throughout the U.K. we provide a free service to help students find suitable opportunities to play alongside their university studies.
We are currently recruiting student-athletes for the September 2022 intake. If like Keith, you’d like to experience basketball in the U.K. whilst pursuing a degree, the first step is to register your
details via the following link:
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