{"id":13473,"date":"2024-09-03T08:40:24","date_gmt":"2024-09-03T08:40:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/?p=13473"},"modified":"2024-09-03T14:23:50","modified_gmt":"2024-09-03T14:23:50","slug":"the-game-goes-on","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/09\/03\/the-game-goes-on\/","title":{"rendered":"The Game Goes On"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\u201cGetting to the top of anything takes huge determination. It takes hard work, the dedication of others to support you, and often many sacrifices along the way,\u201d reflected Reading graduate Barry Huxley.<\/span><\/p>\n

As the Paris Games came to a close last month, CONNECTED spoke to the former England basketball player about his favourite memories of Bulmershe College and his sporting, teaching and coaching career.<\/p>\n

A tight-knit community<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Barry\u2019s passion for basketball was first sparked when he started playing competitively at school and training some of the junior teams. His teachers, one of whom became a lecturer at the University, recommended that he looked into studying at Bulmershe College.<\/p>\n

Bulmershe College merged with the University of Reading in 1965, bringing a new campus that became home to education and theatre studies. Barry enrolled on a course to study physical education at the College in 1966. \u201cIt was a brand new, self-contained campus,\u201d he said. \u201cThere was shared student accommodation and the lecturers had a refreshing, liberal attitude. It was a very, very exciting place to be!\u201d<\/p>\n

\"ImageBarry was selected to play basketball for England just before he started studying at Bulmershe College. He continued to play for the senior team during his time at university and, although he recalls that this was one of the biggest stand-out memories from his time at Reading, it wasn\u2019t just his sporting achievements that made his experience so positive.<\/p>\n

Reminiscing about student life, Barry said: \u201cWe had a great social life. There was a really tight-knit student community around the campus. I remember many nights at the Students\u2019 Union which served beer as cheap as chips, and the music concerts with celebrated artists such as Amen Corner and the American soul singer, P.P. Arnold. The regular college discos were also fabulous and free to students.\u201d<\/p>\n

Representing England<\/strong><\/h4>\n

Shortly after moving to Reading from the Midlands, Barry was invited to play for Sutton & Crystal Palace Basketball Club (SCP) which is where his sporting career really started to thrive.<\/p>\n

Soon after Barry joined the Club they became national champions and speaking about his time at SCP, Barry said: \u201cBeing chosen as the Club\u2019s captain was a huge privilege. It gave me lots of wonderful opportunities including travelling to many different European countries.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cThe highlight of my sporting career has to be when England came up against the Soviet Union basketball team in Belgium. It was a highly competitive game that we unfortunately lost. It was a huge learning curve for us, but despite the loss it was an incredible experience to have played on the same court as the future Olympic champions!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

After seven years at SCP, Barry decided his time representing the Club was sadly over. He said: \u201cAs all athletes know, there comes a time when your sporting career will inevitably come to an end. I had achieved so much in so many ways and I wanted to leave on a high. So, at the end of a successful season where we had become triple champions at the National League, National Cup and the Great Britain tournament, I decided to leave.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIt was so hard to walk away from the sport that I loved so dearly,\u201d he shared. \u201cIt was heartbreaking.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Inspiring the next generation<\/strong><\/h4>\n

In 1969 Barry secured his first teaching job at an Inner London Education Authority<\/a> (ILEA) school in Clerkenwell, East London. He went on to work at various schools in different positions including Head of Department and Head of Centre for Community Education. And, during this time, Barry decided he wanted to return to Reading to convert his Teaching Certificate into a degree in teaching.<\/p>\n

After obtaining his degree, in 1989 Barry moved to the newly-formed local authority Schools Inspectorate in Islington, and then in Hammersmith & Fulham.<\/p>\n

Throughout Barry\u2019s teaching career basketball remained a key part of the curriculum. He said: \u201cMy love for the sport was rekindled through coaching in schools, youth clubs and overseas in the Bahamas and Canada.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cMy biggest highlight was when I coached students at Imperial College London. When I started coaching them in 2001, the team were in the lower half of the Second Division of the London Universities Sports League, and six years later they ended up winning the League!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThis was all down to their hard work and their drive to want to better themselves in the sport.\u201d<\/p>\n

During his time as a teacher and coach, the SCP Basketball Club sadly disbanded. It was around this same time that Barry also decided to retire from teaching and coaching students.<\/p>\n

Reigniting the fire <\/strong><\/h4>\n

However, two years ago, Barry was contacted by one of his fellow basketball players who mentioned the Club were thinking of getting back together to enter the annual GB Masters Basketball tournament.<\/p>\n

On hearing this news, Barry said: \u201cI was absolutely thrilled to be invited to play with my old teammates again, many of whom I had not seen for years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Reforming under the name of SCP Reunited, the Club entered the oldest age category of the tournament and were once again crowned champions.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cWe were all much older, slower and possibly wiser, but with the same desire to win,\u201d Barry shared.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

\u201cThe old fire in my belly was certainly reignited!\u201d<\/p>\n

Getting to the top<\/strong><\/h4>\n

With plans for the next Olympic cycle already underway, many athletes will be aspiring to compete at the next Games, while some will be thinking about retiring from their respective sports. As a former athlete, Barry offered up some advice for those who may find themselves in a similar position to him.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cGetting to the top of anything takes huge determination. It takes hard work, the dedication of others to support you, and often many sacrifices along the way. The support of others \u2013 whether they are your teachers, coaches, parents or partners \u2013 should never be underestimated and should be hugely respected.<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cBut I believe that it\u2019s the desire to want to win \u2013 and win fairly \u2013 that drives athletes to the top.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

“There are inevitably going to be huge disappointments along the way \u2013 one only has to look at the dejected faces of the England men\u2019s football team at the Euro 2024 competition to see what that means.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cHowever, losing honourably should be used as the motivation to work harder and get to the top. When I stopped playing it felt like my whole world had ended. But it was not the end. The game goes on. Get out there, play it and much more than that, enjoy it!\u201d<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Discover other sporting success stories from our University community \u2013 Reading alum Mathilda Hodgkins-Byrne<\/a> won bronze in the Paris Olympic Games, and current Reading student, Ed Fuller<\/a>, won gold in the Paris Paralympic Games.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u201cGetting to the top of anything takes huge determination. It takes hard work, the dedication of others to support you, and often many sacrifices along the way,\u201d reflected Reading graduate Barry Huxley. As the Paris Games came to a close last month, CONNECTED spoke to the former England basketball player about his favourite memories of […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":136,"featured_media":13479,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false},"categories":[3],"tags":[54,21,132,88,68],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe Game Goes On - Connected<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"As the Paris Games came to a close, we spoke to Barry about his memories of Bulmershe College and his sporting, teaching and coaching career.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.reading.ac.uk\/connected\/2024\/09\/03\/the-game-goes-on\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Game Goes On - 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