When Senior Sergeant Gavin Briggs, of the New Zealand Police, met some youth playing basketball next door, little did he expect a few months later to be helping run trials for Samoa’s National U15 Basketball Team competing at the Oceania Championship in Australia, in November. 

Gavin is currently in Samoa to assist the Samoa Police, Prisons and Corrections Service (SPPCS) with their security planning and preparation ahead of CHOGM, but in his downtime and in a nod to his passion for the game he has been sharing his knowledge as a former New Zealand national and representative coach with Samoa’s local basketball community.

“It turns out my neighbour, Pualele Craig, is a member of the Samoa Basketball Federation (SBF). We got to talking about basketball and I was ‘recruited’ to the SBF National Board,” said Gavin. 

“I grew up playing, then coaching and managing, basketball including at the top level in New Zealand with the Tall Blacks and Junior Tall Blacks and I am really pleased to have the opportunity to help Samoa develop and strengthen the sport while I am here.”

Alongside SBF’s local coaches, Gavin runs twice weekly clinics after school on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at Tuanaimato, where young basketballers are upskilled in the fundamentals of the game. 

“We started with around 12 kids and by the fifth week, we had 25 to 30 showing up the natural physical athleticism is all there, so our focus now is on how we grow the skills that underpin basketball,” Gavin said. 

“We’ve run our own 3x3 and 5x5 competitions to test player capability, and with the Oceania Championships coming up, we are also making sure our local U15 players are ready and prepared to put their best feet forward during trials with the view to being selected for the national team so they have the chance to experience overseas competition, too.”

From his days with New Zealand’s national age group teams and with the Tall Blacks and Junior Tall Blacks, Gavin had amassed quite the cache of basketball kit shorts, t-shirts, warmup tops, cargo shorts, polos, and socks which he has also handed over for the young people participating in the basketball clinics. 

“Samoa’s young basketballers are resilient and keen to learn and it’s a privilege to work with Pualele and her team; they all volunteer their time and resources, and I am just really happy that I can contribute in a useful way, both through coaching and through donating gear,” said Gavin. 

“Basketball is a great sport, and I am looking forward to seeing Samoa’s love for the game continue to grow.”

Embedded with the SPPCS to provide advice and support, Gavin and his New Zealand Police colleague Inspector Steve Clark, also work closely with New Zealand’s Senior National Officer for CHOGM, New Zealand Police Assistant Commissioner Lauano Sue Schwalger, to ensure New Zealand’s collaboration with Samoa on Samoa’s CHOGM security requirements is well-coordinated and impactful.