Bears sign Great Britain internationals - The Stratford Observer

Bears sign Great Britain internationals

Stratford Editorial 23rd Aug, 2016 Updated: 28th Oct, 2016   0

WARWICKSHIRE Bears have strengthened their squad by signing two Great Britain internationals on the back of their promotion to Division One of the National League.

Jacob Robinson and Siobhan Fitzpatrick have known Bears coach Tom Masterson for a number of years and were happy to join the newly-promoted Bears.

“I’ve known Tom for ages,” said 18-year-old Fitzpatrick.

“I’ve trained with him on and off and I promised I would come and play for Bears when they got promoted to Division One so, once they did, I had to keep my promise!”




Robinson and Fitzpatrick have played for London Titans for several seasons.

Robinson, who is 20 and studying law and criminology at university, began playing wheelchair basketball when he was 11.


He became a full junior international in his teens and represented Britain in the Under-23 European Championships. He also played in the Champions’ Cup in Japan last November, helping GB to the gold medal.

However, he has since decided to retire from international basketball to concentrate on his studies.

“I want to get back to club basketball and hopefully help Bears win the Division One title next season,” said Robinson.

“I had a good time with GB but I think it is time to focus on my career.”

Fitzpatrick, however, has set her sights on reaching the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. She is currently on standby for Rio as a reserve and is determined to make the full squad in four years’ time.

“I’m hoping to go to university in Worcester in September,” said Fitzpatrick, who has travelled the world with the GB women’s team this year, starting with a training camp in Lanzarote and then heading for Japan, Canada, Germany and Holland.

She captained the team to gold in the European Championships in July as GB beat defending champions Germany and all this while trying to study biology and psychology A Levels.

“The teachers were phenomenal,” said Fitzpatrick, who left Cardinal Newman School in Coventry in July.

“They emailed and Skyped me and were really accommodating. I think I was probably only at school for about a month in total.”

Providing the results go well, she has a sports scholarship to go to at the University of Worcester, which is where the GB women’s training centre is also based. She currently drives there from her home in Coventry up to five times a week.

“It will be great to have everything on hand,” said Fitzpatrick.

“I’m looking forward to helping Bears in their bid for promotion to the Premier Division. It is quite a big step up from Division Two to Division One so it may take a couple of seasons, but I’m looking forward to the challenge.”

Bears welcome experienced players and complete beginners to their training sessions at Warwickshire College sports hall in Henley on Tuesday evenings. Contact coach Tom Masterson on 07946 518354 for details.

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