Phoenix Basketball Club Coach Tom Kearney has been named Sport NI’s SportMaker Young Volunteer of the Year.
The SportMaker Young Volunteer of the Year award recognises the important work carried out by an up and coming volunteer, who has made an outstanding contribution to the development of sport.
Tom has been coaching for three years and works with the Phoenix Basketball Junior Squads. The young volunteer gained his refereeing qualification in the 2022-23 season and has also qualified as a table officiator.
As well as volunteering within the club, Tom is also part of the newly formed Youth Forum to gather opinions and has undertaken several roles within Basketball NI.
Sport NI surprised Tom with his award in front of the next generation that he’s inspiring: “It’s amazing, it’s surprising. I did not expect to win this at all.
“I got into basketball when I was 12,13. Breda from the club introduced us to coaching and I really enjoyed it. If you had a lot of fun with the coaching, there was more opportunities such as being a table official, being a referee and I just thought it would be a great opportunity to grasp.”
Tom is the epitome of a volunteer as when the first opportunity arose for him to help his local club, he didn’t stand on the sidelines but got straight out on the court.
After COVID-19 stopped all sport, Tom couldn’t wait to get back and realised the importance of giving back to basketball to help it grow and provide sport for others to enjoy.
Tom explained: “I think just seeing the kids improve and have fun, that’s the main thing for me. Just seeing that I have an impact on people, on the kids, and just seeing that they really enjoy basketball. It’s probably my favourite thing about coaching.”
Breda Dick, who nominated Tom for the award, said: “Every club needs a Tom Kearney. He is an unbelievable ambassador for basketball.
“As soon as he turned 16, he did the table official course, the refereeing course, he volunteers with the Rockets, the all-Ireland Women’s team and is helping with a Super League club too. No matter what we need, Tom is always the first to put his hand up.”
Richard Archibald, Interim CEO, Sport NI congratulated Tom on his award: “Our SportMaker Awards celebrate the unsung sporting heroes who help make sport happen in communities across Northern Ireland.
“Tom is a shining example of how volunteering is the backbone to sport across Northern Ireland and to be a role model at a young age is an inspiration to all of us.
“Congratulations Tom – you are a SportMaker!”
The Sport NI SportMaker Awards give the sporting community the opportunity to showcase their achievements and give special thanks to coaches, officials and volunteers who work tirelessly behind the scenes to make sport happen. There are 12 award categories recognising achievement at all levels of sports participation, from grassroots through to high performance.