Winnipegger lands Scottish hoops gig

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This article was published 11/01/2024 (866 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Kerri Kuzbyt was living her pro basketball dream.

The former University of Winnipeg Wesmen point guard was making a name for herself in Germany where she helped the Göttingen-based ASC Royal Blues earn the league title and a promotion to the second division.

Things were going great, but after two seasons it was time for a new challenge.

“I took a moment and said, ‘Wow, I don’t feel like I need to chase anything anymore.’ There was nothing next that I really wanted to chase, I was very satisfied,” Kuzbyt, a 29-year-old Winnipegger, said in a phone interview.

“I wasn’t injured, I was healthy and getting stronger, but I really just had my time with it.”

Three years later, Kuzbyt is back in the chase overseas, only this time in a much different role. She was recently hired by Basketball Scotland to be its new head of female basketball development.

Kuzbyt will head the youth academy, identifying and working with players who have the potential to represent Team Great Britain and/or play professionally.

The country is far from a basketball powerhouse, however, Kuzbyt hopes she can help it get to a point where more Scots can take up spots on Great Britain’s roster (which is also open to players in England and Wales).

Typically, only one or two players from Scotland crack the national women’s lineup.

“To kind of be part of that movement from ground up and them trusting me to spearhead that is something I really, really desire rather than being given something where the bar has already been set and you just have to put the cherry on the top,” said Kuzbyt, who relocated to Glasgow this week.

“I kind of like going from the ground up because I get to be a part of their development, grow with them and foster that relationship. You kind of have them brand new.”

After her final season in Germany, Kuzbyt returned home and put her education degree to good use with high-school teaching stints at John Taylor, Tec Voc and her alma mater, Sisler. Becoming a full-time phys-ed teacher was her initial plan before she decided to pivot.

“I kind of like going from the ground up because I get to be a part of their development, grow with them and foster that relationship. You kind of have them brand new.”–Kerri Kuzbyt

She worked alongside Matt Dyck — her former trainer who operates Atlas Basketball Training in the city — and started her own venture called Unbounded Athletes with the goal of helping young females become elite players.

“I really started to take a step back (when I was teaching) and I thought, ‘I think I’m meant for greater.’ I was doing a little player development on the side with my former player-development coach and my best friend (Dyck) where I always said, ‘Hey, I want to get into the female side of this.’ And then the more I started getting into it, being exposed, learning, and teaching in that capacity, that’s when I really started to gravitate and thought, ‘Whoah, I’m teaching in the wrong place,’” said Kuzbyt.

“So, I made the call in 2021 and I said I want to start my own business. That’s when I started to slowly transition from teaching into the side gig, and then the side gig becoming the main gig.”

A Scottish coach who tried to recruit Kuzbyt as a player a while back recommended she apply for the job in Scotland and the rest is history.

Dyck is confident Kuzbyt is the right person for the job.

“I saw her obsession while I was coaching her. And then when she transitioned over to the coaching side of things, I saw her desire to learn as much as possible and try to impact the women’s side of the game as much as much as she really could,” said Dyck, who’s also an assistant with the U of W’s men’s basketball team.

“They’re getting someone who’s obsessed, passionate, and continuing to improve at an exponential rate as a coach.”

Kuzbyt was the top-ranked player in the province coming out of Sisler. The 5-7 sharpshooter was a starter in her rookie season and went on to play five years at U of W. A three-year co-captain, Kuzbyt wrapped up her U Sports career by guiding the Wesmen to a Canada West bronze medal. She was also an academic all-Canadian for the entirety of her degree.

“What that orange ball allows you to see and learn about yourself is the biggest thing,” said Kuzbyt. “I want to communicate to the next generation that opportunities are there, and they’re there if you seek them out.”

taylor.allen@freepress.mb.ca

X: @TaylorAllen31