Interview with Courtyard Liffey Celtics Star Erin Bracken

Point-Guard Erin Bracken won the Women’s Super League last season with Courtyard Liffey Celtics to crown a love affair with basketball since she was 9 years-old. 

The 22 year-old from Leixlip explains, “I first started playing basketball when I was 9 years old, my mam brought me up to Liffey Celtics one day to give it a go and that was that, I've been in love with the game ever since.”

Winning the league was the ultimate accolade but she says the losing the Cup Final was a huge turning point in their season, “We have been working extremely hard for years as a club to grow and improve, so to win the League last season was a great achievement for us. We were disappointed with our performance in the National Cup Final, that was a turning point for us as we managed to go the rest of the season unbeaten which really showed great character.”

Erin took part in former Irish International Paul Cummins’ Sport Dream Academy (SDA) as both a player and a coach, and she feels that it played a huge part in her development. The academy was set up to develop and sharpen elite skills in talented athletes and to provide an elite environment for athletes, through top coaching and performance programmes. It also helped put top athletes in the shop window for potential sporting/academic opportunities around the globe.

Bracken said about the program, “Sport Dream Academy (SDA) is such great exposure for elite basketball players in Ireland. When I played at the camp it was great to get to play with, and compete against, some of the best players in the country. Paul Cummins is doing a great job by giving players a platform in their careers and many players that have previously been involved in SDA have gone on to receive scholarships to the US.”

“Similarly as a coach, to get to work with some of the top players in the country is exciting and challenging. I really enjoyed coaching with some amazing coaches from the US and from Ireland, you can really learn a lot in just a couple of days.”

Coaching is something you expect older adults to do, however for Bracken it began at a very young age, “I started coaching at the age of 15 and I don't think when I started off I imagined it being such a big part of my life, but I love what I do and the boys and girls I coach are great.”

Erin (pictured above with her Courtyard Liffey Celtics team-mates) was part of the Irish U-18 Women’s coaching team, as a 21 year-old, that went to Bosnia in 2016. She said, “I really enjoyed the experience of working with Liam Culloty and the group of amazing girls that we had. It was unreal to be exposed to European basketball as a coach.”

This year she enjoyed watching the U-18’s from the sidelines as they powered their way into the European Championship final, unfortunately losing to Germany. 

We asked her what ambition she has for this Super League season with the Celtics and she said, “Personally and as a team we want to enjoy this season and improve every week, it is a different dynamic than last season. We are very young so we are all just working hard and taking 1 game at a time.”

She says about her as a player, “I feel like I would be quite positive and encouraging as a player, and whenever I go on the court I just want to bring energy and do whatever I can to help my team.”

As far as coaching goes Erin has big ambitions, but what type of coach is she? “As a coach, I would hold my players to high standards and I feel like I'm learning and developing my coaching philosophy all the time. At the moment I'm enjoying helping young aspiring basketball players to improve as not only players but to help them off the court too.”

“Going forward as a coach I have many short and long term goals, one of which is to coach in the States, so working on those all the time.”

Photo Credit: Sportsfile & Basketball Ireland