From Game Program 1st December v. Aston Athletics.

This coaches corner isn’t easy to write. We haven’t won for a while now, and we were downright awful last Saturday. What’s really hard isn’t to stay optimistic, because we have shown we have the ability to play with anyone this year. What’s hard is to convince anyone not on the team or with the team every day, that this is the case.

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From the game program 27th October v. Plymouth Cannons 

It was nice to get that win against Plymouth Raiders! I’m a very firm believer in modern Olympics founder Baron de Coubertin’s “The most important thing in life is not the triumph but the struggle, the essential thing is not to have conquered but to have fought well” and Vince Lombardi’s “Winning isn’t everything, but wanting to win is”.

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From the game program 20 October v Plymouth Raiders II.
Crusaders lost a tough one at home by two to Leicester two weeks ago, and lost to a very good Northampton team last weekend by 32. Now, a 32 point loss sounds like a lot, and it was, but it was also a game where we learned a lot.

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From the game program 6th October v Leicester Warriors

As this is my first coaches corner, I’ll take this chance to welcome you to the new-look Kent Crusaders. We present you with the best of the old, with a touch of new spice.

As new head coach I’m looking to bring the best of the Crusaders past into the future, while adding some new things that hopefully will make the future bright! A big part of that is new assistant coach Toby Chant who, despite his young age, has coached and played at a high level.

As far as players go, we’ve had to say goodbye to a few well establish players, including captain Paul Jessop and fan favourites James Parker and Gary Davison, but that just just means you’ll see more of players like new captain Pete Ayling, balls-to-the-walls guard Damian Lyons, James “Shooter” Harris, Steve “Kobe” Findey and other veterans.

We have also got exiting new players coming in. Rikki Broadmore is a pedal-to-the-metal point guard who’ll fly in for rebounds, Dan Garrard is a big guy with a big body and great potential, and JP Dimandja has been described by teammates as “a human rebounding machine”.

While the´young guys have unlimited potential, and the verans have several years of National League experience, we’re still working on putting everything together. We’re still looking to be the same old tough Crusaders on defense, but sometimes tonight you may see the Crusaders pass the ball straight across the sideline (remember to duck if it is coming towards you!), as we’re still working out all the quirks of the offenses. We have changed our style of offense to a more structured approach, and that takes some getting used to for both verans and new players, so if it looks like we’re confused out there sometimes tonight, just remember that the end justifies the means - we will get there, with hard work and your help!

Please welcome the new-look Crusaders!