Welcome, Dominic Scott-Robinson

We are super excited to announce the appointment of Dominic Scott-Robinson as our first Academy Head Coach at Whitefriars School.  With a proven track record of developing talent and a deep passion for the game, Coach Dom brings an outstanding level of professionalism and leadership that will be instrumental in guiding our academy as it establishes itself within the basketball community.  We are confident that Coach Dom’s vision and commitment to excellence will inspire our athletes and energise our entire community as we embark on this exciting new chapter.

To help you get to know Coach Dom better, we have prepared a Q&A session where he shares insights on his coaching philosophy, goals for the academy and what he is most excited about in joining our Bridge the Gap Team and our Whitefriars Basketball Academy.  Read on to learn more about our new head coach and his vision for the future.

Can you share a bit about your background and what led you to join our basketball academy?

My name is Dominic Scott-Robinson & I am a coach and a skill development trainer. I have had the pleasure of working with or being involved with a range of athletes from young beginners to elite & pro level players. Like most coaches, I was a player first, having represented England from U14-U18 in my junior career and played at the NCAA Division II level, before a career ending injury. Naturally, still having an urge to be involved in the game, I fell into coaching and have been in love with my job ever since. 

What is your coaching philosophy, and how do you plan to implement it at our academy?

Player first! I’ve been on winning teams and losing teams & the teams that I had both the most fun & success on, each player had a healthy positive relationship with both our coach and with each other. I.e. We were open & honest at all times, had an agreed standard of our version of “success” and then held each other accountable to maintain that agreed standard both on & off the court. Subsequently this instilled both a level and healthy balance of motivation & discipline which I believe are two of the several core values needed for both a player and a team to be successful. 

By definition, my job is to help improve & develop the team, the players & in turn, the programme as much as I possibly can. As much as the player’s have a responsibility to do the best they can for themselves & the team, I also share that responsibility and plan to lead by example, so that collectively we are all moving towards the common goal of constant growth and improvement. By not doing this to the best of my abilities, would mean I am not doing my job. 

What do you believe are the most important qualities of a successful basketball player, and how will you cultivate those qualities in our athletes?

Accountability, discipline, competitiveness & control. 

I think these four things complement each other and fall in line with our philosophy of inspiring both team and personal growth. To get to the next level and “Bridge the Gap”, the team and yourself must be held to a certain standard. No-one else is responsible for this except us. To meet that standard every day, both individually and collectively we must have discipline to show up every day and push the boundaries of comfort in order for the team & individuals to grow. Being competitive is needed to play this game and in life and whilst winning or losing does not determine who we are, aspiring to win demands a level of accountability and discipline amongst both the team and individually. Finally, control is the umbrella above these three things as, if you don’t have these things under control (even when things go wrong) in both life and on the court, the ship begins to sink. 

What are your short-term and long-term goals for the academy?

With it being its first year, in the short term, I want the programme to hit the ground running and be off to a smooth start. Hopefully the players can get through the season healthy, learn, have fun & win some games whilst doing it. 

Long-term, I’d love for the academy to be playing at the highest level possible and think like any coach, competing for trophies & titles. 

How do you plan to develop our players both on and off the court?

“People don’t care how much you know until they know how much you care”. This quote epitomises my approach to player development. I believe every player and every person should aspire to be the best version of themselves and having gone through some tough times in my playing career, having someone to talk to for advice and support on any worries both on and off the court is what got me to attempt to get the best out of myself in both those aspects. And as a coach, I feel that’s all you can ask of your players. 

What kind of culture do you aim to build within the team and the academy as a whole?

I think this relates back to the philosophy of growth & subsequent needed accountability – I envision a culture where there is a cohesive agreement that we owe it to ourselves and the programme to keep pushing forward and demand the best of each other. Even if we’re having a bad day & it’s just 0.001% forward. We always keep it moving – whatever it takes. 

How do you balance winning games with the development of players, especially in a youth academy setting?

I think it’s important that we understand as a programme we may not win every game, but we CAN try to. If we do lose, It’s a little bit cliche, but every loss is a lesson…literally. Understanding this concept changed my whole perspective on wins and losses. As a coach, I hate losing more than I like winning, but I think relating back to the quality of control being one of the things needed to be successful, If we do lose, it’s understanding why we lost and how to adapt both collectively and individually to keep on improving. 

Can you walk us through what a typical training session under your guidance will look like?

The way I see our training sessions going is starting off with a fun two part warm up consisting of a type of physical competence challenge & a mental one. Following this, there will be something reps based, primarily based around the types of actions we will run. This will be mostly 1 v 0, but uptempo, and competitive as not winning a drill always requires a forfeit! This then will progress into small sided games (1 v 2, 2 v 1, 3 v 3 etc). The bulk of the session will be running through concepts and our X’s & O’s; Sometimes with an offensive focus and sometimes more defensive. The last part of the session will be a controlled scrimmage with the aim of putting it all together and ironing out or tweaking things in preparation for game day.

 How do you plan to address the individual needs of players with different skill levels?

I plan on doing this by setting different goals or communicating differently according to the skill level. Again, my job is to help improve & sometimes improvement may look different on different players. 

What role do you see nutrition and mental conditioning playing in the overall development of our athletes?

This is super important. Being an athlete is not just about how fast you can run or how high you can jump. It’s also about what goes into being able to actually operate as an athlete. Nutrition is a big portion of what allows you to perform on court. You are what you eat! 

Training can be monotonous and frustrating at times and most top-level athletes would agree they have or have had a love-hate relationship with their sport. Being able to stay mentally tough and locked in and relating back to our philosophy where you’re holding yourself accountable to have the discipline to still show up and put in the work is what separates the best from the rest. Mentality is a huge one for me. 

How do you plan to involve parents and carers in the development process of their children?

Parents and carers will know that they can contact me with any concerns at any time & I will always respond as quickly as I can. At the end of each half term, I’d like to talk with each player and parent/carer to discuss progress and targets.

What unique opportunities do you think this academy offers that other programmes may not?

With it being a new academy, this means we can do things our own way & go at our own pace. To add, our Head Teacher, Mr. Vekaria, having a sports background, naturally is fully backing and supporting the academy as much as he can to give the players the best opportunities and experience that we can create. This, paired with Gary Maitland and Ovie Soko’s connections, is a huge boost for the programme – I don’t know many people in the U.K. as globally connected, from both players to agents to coaches. Great things take time, but this means we have scope to do some pretty cool things – the sky’s the limit! 

What was a defining moment in your career, either as a player or a coach, that shaped who you are today?

Tearing my ACL three times and my college scholarship being cut. Going through that was the worst – both mentally and physically (I had 4 knee surgeries in 3 years). But coming out the other side of it and still managing to get a first in my Psychology degree has made me fiercely resilient and feel like I can get through and help people get through any difficult time that they/we may face.

How do you stay motivated and continue to learn and grow as a coach?

The same concept I followed as a player: Understanding that as soon as you think you know everything and get complacent, someone else is out there trying to compete to take your spot and be better than you. Hard work over talent – always! 

What message do you have for our young athletes who are eager to learn and improve under your guidance?

Your job as a student-athlete is to try to do the best you can on the court and in the classroom. My job as a coach is to help you improve as a player and a person as much as possible. If you give me your best effort at your job, I will do the same. 

What is the most important lesson you hope to impart to your players by the end of their time at the academy?

That we always have the choice to try to be the best version of ourselves both on & off the court.

What are the first steps you’ll take as you settle into this new role?

I’d like to do a players meeting and then a players and parents/carers meeting to not only get to know each other, but to begin to create the culture and general ethos surrounding expectations, plans & goals etc.