Stephen Duff

Stevie Duff joined the Sports Development Team in January 2002.

Having taught for 10 years, seven as an English teacher and three as a Teacher of Behaviour Support at Hawick High School, Stevie decided to change career paths in order to become involved in the development of basketball.

His split role work remit gave him responsibility to coordinate and enhance delivery in Disability Sport and Basketball.

Stevie was appointed as Associate Coach of the Great Britain Womens Wheelchair Basketball Team in January 2006, for a seven year tenure, building up to the London 2012 Paralympics.

He has coached basketball at a number of clubs at various levels including East Lothian Peregrines, Lothian Phoenix Wheelchair Basketball Club and City of Edinburgh Kings.

He is basketball coordinator for Lothian Disability Sport and is a key member of the Scottish Wheelchair Baketball Development Group.

Stevie works closely with Scottish Disability Sport, providing inservice training for teachers and students at FE colleges and secondary schools.

He coordinates East Lothian Council's multi sport programme for pupils with disabilities in primary and secondary schools.

disability

Lothian Phoenix Promoted to Second Division
Lothian Phoenix travelled to the English Institute of Sport in Sheffield for the GBWBA Play Offs on 18 & 19 May.
 
The team had a clear task – to win two games and gain promotion to the second division. 
 
Having finished second in the GBWBA Division Three North, Phoenix did not gain automatic promotion, but rather had to face off in a play off against the second placed teams from the South and Central Divisions.
 
Their opponents were the West Coast Tornadoes and the Stratford Players.
 
First up was the Tornadoes. The Phoenix got off to a blistering startand finished the 1st quarter leading 24-9. By halftime the lead had been extended to 36-19, but it was the third quarter that sealed the fate of the Tornadoes as the Phoenix created a tempest of their own, led by a whirlwind 12 points of scoring from Rab O’Rorke. Simon Ramsay contributed a further 6 points, getting on the end of and finishing the Phoenix fast break. 
 
By the end of the quarter the lead had been further extended to 60-29 and Coach Stevie Duff took the opportunity to rest his starting five and closed out the game with the bench players, who ensured a Phoenix victory with their tough defence and good execution on offence. 
 
The final score was 68-48 and part one of the task was complete.
 
Three hours later the Phoenix faced the Stratford Players, knowing victory would ensure their place in the second division in 2008-2009. The evenly matched teams slugged it out in the first half and Phoenix took an eight point lead into the intermission, leading 27-19. A third quarter comeback by the Stratford team cut the Phoenix lead to 6, but the Phoenix once again dug deep and re-established their lead going into the final period leading 42-31. 
 
With an evenly contested final quarter, Phoenix completed part two of the task and won promotion to the second division north with a 52-39 victory.
 
Stevie Duff commented, “We had an excellent team performance this weekend and it is a great end to a great season for the club. The team deserve their promotion as the gains we have made in individual and team performance over the course of the season has been incredible. We will need to continue to work hard over the summer if we are to be ready for the step up to the second division next year.
 
“Although it was a great team performance overall, the individual performance of Rab O’Rorke was amazing. 28 and 23 points respectively for the two games is a fantastic offensive shift by our top scorer for the season.”
Lothian Phoenix Donate Wheels For Africa
 
Lothian Phoenix Wheelchair Basketball Club has donated 5 wheelchairs to a charity that collects, refurbishes and distributes wheelchairs from Britain to wheelchair users in Africa.
 
The Wheels-4-Africa Appeal was started to help the disabled people in
Africa. Their status as disadvantaged and poor usually means they have to
beg on the streets. Due to superstition and stigma many are totally ignored.
A suitable Wheelchair opens up new possibilities and opportunities for an
independent life which allows individuals to no longer be considered outcasts
from Society but valued members of their community.
 
When Lothian Phoenix members heard of the charity, they were more than happy to donate old chairs, many which had been sitting in the garage for years, to this worthy cause.
 
Gary Smith commented, “My old sports wheelchair has been sitting in my shed for years and years. The wheels are all buckled and they need new tyres and spokes, but if the Wheels 4 Africa Charity are able to recondition my old chair and someone in Africa can benefit from this, then that will be just amazing. I’m just glad I never got around to having that big clear out of my shed.”
Lothian Phoenix 71 - 23 Bolton Bulls
2nd December 2007

A great team performance by the Lothian Phoenix saw them defeat Bolton by 48 points at Bathgate on Sunday.

Of note was the sterling performances of rookies Jose Hamad and Stephen Ross who both started the game and contributed four pooints each to the Phoenix cause.

Also of note was the fine performances of the Musselburgh boys, Mark Stevenson, finding his shooting touch and contributing 8 and Simon Ramsay throwing in ten points for the Phoenix.

Top scorer Rab O' Rorke was on fire with 22 points and led the team in scoring, however, it was fellow weegie, Davey Gilmour that was man of the match with his fine play at point guard.

Controlling the game as if on a string, his incisive passes to the post players were crucial in the Phoenix's fifth win of the season.

Lothian Phoenix will travel south to Yorkshire at the weekend to play Cardinals I and Cardinals II in a double header that willl see them face their toughest challenge of the season to date.
Fraser Gets Off to a Flyer
 
New Lothian Phoenix Coach, Fraser Govan, arrived in impressive manner on Sunday, 11 November when he steered the Phoenix to a 50-35 win against Bury Blue Devils.
 
The Phoenix got off to a poor start, always trailing throughout.  However, the second quarter saw the home team start to claw their way back into the match and by midway through the second quarter the scores were level.
 
Lothian took the lead 4 minutes before half time and never looked back. With the contest clearly won by the beginning of the fourth quarter, Fraser was able to play his entire bench during the final period and able to evaluate all of the players in a match situation.
 
The Phoenix are in action again on 2 December at Bathgate Academy when they take on the Bolton Bulls. Tap Off 11.00a.m.

Phoenix Soaring High During First Season

Lothian Phoenix Wheelchair Basketball Club completed their first season in the GBWBA Division Three (North), finishing third in the league and runners up in the Scottish Cup.

The Phoenix were formed during the summer of 2006 in order to provide a competition and participation pathway for wheelchair basketball players in the East of Scotland.  The club currently draws its membership from Edinburgh, East Lothian, West Lothian, Fife, Scottish Borders, Falkirk and Glasgow.  Being based halfway along the M8 at Bathgate Academy, the club is ideally situated at the hub of its regional catchment area.

Operating a wheelchair basketball team in the GBWBA leagues is an expensive business for the only Scottish team in the division.  Every Phoenix away match involves a trip across the border to play teams from the likes of Chester, Sheffield, Liverpool, Bolton, Bury and Bradford.

The club has been fortunate to have been supported by a number of organisations that have helped start up and fund the club during its first season, including basketballscotland, Scottish Disability Sport, Awards for All, East Lothian Council, West Lothian Council, Lothian Disability Sport and the East Lothian Community Health Project.

The East Lothian Community Health Project provided funding that enabled the club to purchase a trailer that has been used to transport players’ basketball wheelchairs when travelling to away fixtures.  In addition, the trailer has been used to transport the basketball wheelchairs to schools and community groups as part of the Phoenix’s work of promoting wheelchair basketball through come and try sessions and the club’s disability awareness programme.

With the success of the inaugural season and word spreading of the Phoenix’s exploits in the league and community, a steady flow of additional members have come to the club over the course of the season.  The club currently has eighteen registered players and is looking at ways to increase its membership and to provide additional playing opportunities for younger and less experienced players.

For more information regarding the Lothian Phoenix Wheelchair Basketball Club go to the club’s website at www.lothianphoenix.org.uk