Basketball in the UK has never been anywhere near as big as sports like football, rugby or cricket. As a matter of fact, basketball had the lowest level of engagement amongst adults across the top 20 sports in the UK according to the latest EY Sports Engagement Index. But the Yorkshire region is actually one of the most engaged across the UK. It’s home to at least 6 of the teams within the top 3 divisions of English Basketball. One of those teams was only formed in 2023 and has just wrapped up play for their second season. That team is the West Yorkshire Hawks.
The team was founded by Mark Mills, a lecturer at the University of Leeds in their Business School. Even though Mark works at that University, the team is actually based at the University of Huddersfield, where they are linked to the BUCS basketball team that produce strong talents annually.
Mills said, “It’s been another season of learning for us. Week on week we are growing as a club. That’s kind of our goal. The results on the floor have been good. Are we frustrated that we haven’t won the league? Of course we are, but we are having an impact in our community. I am so proud of every single one of our players for what they’re doing.”
Mills was unfortunately referring to the Hawks narrowly missing out on taking the top spot of Division Three and earning promotion to Division 2. The Hawks were looking hopeful to come away with the trophy until the last few games of the season. Unfortunately, they came to face the eventual champions in the Sheffield Sharks who came away from Huddersfield with the victory.
Mills continues to show his admiration for the local community showing up for the games on Saturday nights at the University. He said, “It’s been unbelievable how we’ve been embraced by the local community. We’re 2 years into a minority sport and we’ve got 200 people sitting courtside who have probably never been to a basketball game before in their life. Now they’re here cheering on the Hawks. They’re learning the sport, having a night out with the kids. It’s exactly what we envisaged when we set the club up.”
Mills initially held the title of head coach after founding the club. After the first season, however, the reigns were passed onto Danny Byrne who was formerly the Head Coach at the Manchester Giants, one of the leading English basketball teams in the British Super League. There was a vast contrast in the two sides going from the equivalent of the Premier League in football to a League Two side.
“Obviously, professionally, (in Manchester) you’ve got a group of Americans that are top-level athletes and some of the top-quality British players that practice twice-a-day either individually or with the team. The intensity is crazy, and they come ready with that energy and that’s what they do for a living so that makes your life easier. You have time for just purely video sessions,” said Byrne.
Byrne continued, “I took a year out last year and then came to Division 3 West Yorkshire Hawks and we have two 90-minute sessions per week where you have to try and cram everything in. Everyone has full-time jobs so it’s not some of the players main priority. Some of the players just do it because they love it and enjoy it. Some of the other guys are desperate to get promoted to Division 2 because maybe they’ve fallen down a little bit and want to get back up.”
The maximum salary cap for Super League Basketball teams in the UK in 2022 was £250,000 according to Hoopsfix. This meant that, dividing it up by the number of players in a roster was about £20,833 per player. And that was for the highest division of English Basketball. In an environment where a full-time salary is unavailable at the third division it takes a great amount of commitment and dedication from the players to still show up but also from the staff.
At most of the intermissions on game night, the volunteers at the game do the utmost to keep fans engaged and enhance their experience by either pulling out an inflatable basketball, the height of a tall fully grown adult, and sending it through the crowd or doing something similar with a collection of small inflatable basketballs. There’s even a game at halftime where two younger members of the crowd get to take to the court and compete against each other to put on some oversized Hawks gear, run up and down the court and score a basket.
Mills who is part of this volunteering crew, is hoping to start some sessions for the younger players, next season. He said, “Nothing is confirmed but the plan is that we will grow. Fingers crossed; we will have more basketball. We’re looking at potentially some pathway junior teams and junior sessions to start-up. We have got a lot of junior fans, so it makes sense. Maybe there will be some more opportunities both men’s and women’s. If we can get it nailed for next season that would be great but if not, then definitely the season after.”
At the end of every game the Hawks crowd get their chance to come onto the court and interact with the players, getting signatures and taking pictures, imitating the environment of a real NBA game but better than court-side tickets. Win or lose the Hawks players take their time for the fans who create an incredible atmosphere weekly. Helped by the speakers blasting out the words ‘DEFENCE!’ every time the Hawks are defending their basket; the crowd joins in with the chant and makes sure to provide the squad with all the support they need.
The loud crowd and tough opposition mean for a tough Saturday night for the away team and the Hawks’ player of the season only adds to this. Dave Walsh has played basketball at multiple different teams in the Yorkshire region including the Division one side Bradford Dragons.
Walsh is regarded by both fans and teammates as the resident sharpshooter, who knows no limit to his range of three-pointers. When the Head Coach, Danny Byrne, was still in Manchester, he tried to sign Dave multiple times.
Walsh had mixed emotions about the second season. He said, “This season has been up and down. We’ve had some huge highs and a couple of lows. We’ve dropped games and points which have put us in the position that we are now in. We could’ve walked away as the league winners but second in the league is something we’ll take.”
After playing Cheshire Wire, the Hawks’ last home game of the season on the 15th of March, Walsh expressed his excitement for what was to come in the playoffs; “I think we’ll be ready. We’ve got a couple of weeks off now so there is plenty of time to practice, and plenty of work to be done. Luckily, we can keep this season rolling over and hopefully we can get to the finals in Manchester,” said Walsh.
The Hawks faced their local rivals in the playoffs in Sheffield against the Sharks development team. The winners of the division and the backup to the Sheffield Sharks Super League team, who compete at the highest level of English Basketball. The Hawks had faced the Sharks 5 weeks prior in February, but took one of the hardest losses of the season as they failed to win by 20 points which was also the point in the season where they realised, they couldn’t win the league as long as the Sharks kept winning games. The playoffs were then a similar story for the Hawks as they lost by just 11 points against the Sharks at the Canon Medical Arena in Sheffield.
So, a spanner has been thrown in the works for the Hawks, but the team won’t let this dampen their mood going into next season. Dave Walsh still hopes that the fans will be happy to see him sport the number three shirt again. He said, “I think there is going to be some changes. I’m pretty sure that the Hawks fans are going to see me in the kit again next season, It will be good and we’re going to really make the push again for Division 2 next season.”
Head Coach, Danny Byrne, said, “I haven’t really thought about it yet, only a little bit. We’re going to try and bring in a few more players and strengthen the areas that we need the strength in. I think we’re going to improve the University team as well. We have a couple of players in there that we need to figure out how to mesh together.”
The University works in tandem with the Hawks in order to develop and grow talent in the West Yorkshire region, but specifically student athletes at the University. The university squad earned promotion from the fourth to third tier of BUCS Northern basketball after a win over the University of Sunderland in mid-March. This of course, means that some players would have to work more than others having to train with both the University side and the club. It may contribute to exhaustion but at the same time, improvement in skill level which in turn may have contributed towards the Hawks finishing second in the league.
The saying, ‘It takes a whole village to raise a child’ reflects nicely with what has happened at the West Yorkshire Hawks Basketball Club. It’s not just the players but also the coaching staff, the volunteers at the games, the fans who attend weekly, the sponsors who contribute towards kits, funding and other various expenses and even a whole university.
The players make sure to acknowledge this through their interactions with the fans. After all 8 of the home games this season the players and fans showed their mutual admiration for each other as they worked to achieve 11 wins and 3 losses record. Only one of those losses at home. The University student Central would be known as a fortress for teams travelling to face the Hawks.
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