The University of Nottingham became the inaugural BUCS (British Universities and Colleges Sport) Wheelchair Basketball champions in 2022 with James Hazell playing a key part in that success, despite not being formally enrolled at the University. We are delighted that this year James has decided to continue his studies at the University of Nottingham, combining his elite level of play on the Wheelchair Basketball court in the #GreenandGold with studying in the Faculty of Social Sciences. We recently spoke to James to find out more about this decision, his experiences in sport so far, as well as his future goals.
Great to meet you James, can you give me a brief introduction about yourself?
Hi, I’m from a small town near Kettering, and 23. I grew up on a farm and haven’t really moved anywhere else until attending university. I initially got into sport because of my older sister. She played some wheelchair basketball whilst at university and I picked it up from there.
From my background I’ve always had a mentality of adapting where possible because of being around a farming culture, but when I first started trying some different experiences outside of that - sport wasn’t something that I enjoyed. That was because of my disability and the stereotypical idea at the time that because you’re disabled you shouldn’t do sport. However, I did find the opportunity to get into sport through wheelchair basketball and I’ve loved it ever since.
What was it about Wheelchair Basketball that you specifically enjoyed?
It’s the challenge of it. There are so many skills that you have to master, and I enjoy being in a team environment. I tried Wheelchair Tennis but with it being very individual I just simply didn’t enjoy it as much. In basketball, there are so many roles within the team and there’s a much bigger picture than simply what you do on the court.
Did your family encourage you to explore playing sport?
Yes, so I have two sisters who enjoyed sport. One played netball, and the other still plays rugby here in Nottingham. We are a very sporting family and they definitely helped get me into sport.
I was born with spina bifida myelomeningocele and initially my parents were told that I would never be able to walk. I proved that wrong by being able to walk until the age of 18, when Coronavirus limited my ability to keep being as active. At the time I really still wanted my independence and to be able to walk unaided, however my life has probably been better since I’ve had a wheelchair because I’ve still managed to have my independence.
I’ve continually kept adapting throughout my life. You shouldn’t let life hold you back – I guess I got dealt a difficult hand with having a disability, but hopefully I’ve proven that you don’t have to have the easiest of cards to challenge yourself to achieve as much as you can. If ever someone has told me that I couldn’t do something in my life I’ve gone and done it just to be annoying and prove them wrong. So when people have told me I can’t play sport or go to university, I’ve pushed to do both of those things.
With your sister attending university, was that something that you also always wanted to do as well?
No, it wasn’t actually something that I ever really thought about doing until I was slightly older. I began working at Waitrose from 16 and initially wanted to go into a managerial aspect within that. However, I did also go to college whilst working and managed to get the grades to be able to go to university. That helped me make the decision to do an undergraduate degree in Sport and Business Management at the University of Lincoln, combining both sport and business. Again, I managed to do pretty well and also realised I enjoyed education so I decided to come here for my masters. I actually turned down some professional contracts abroad to continue studying as a sports scholar.
Is playing professionally still the aim after you’ve finished your studies?
I actually had offers to play in Europe professionally before Coronavirus, and I turned them down because I didn’t feel that I was ready. Making the decision to move abroad and away from family is a big one and I still feel like I’ve got a lot to develop in my game before going abroad and showing the world what I can do. I also wanted to continue my education and Nottingham gave me that opportunity. We have one of the best coaches in the country so I decided to come here and enjoy student life again!
Playing professionally is still the aim, however I’d like to stay here in the UK because of the upcoming 2024 Paralympic games in Paris. I’m currently a part of the Great Britain programme, and will be headed out to Japan recently to compete and the team performed well, so hopefully there’s a chance I’ll be selected for the summer.
What position and role do you play on the court?
I’m very much a workhorse who will do all the grunt work for the team, and I’ll look to get my team mates into good positions. I would say I’m more of a defensive player who’s fast and someone who enjoys the defensive mind-set. I’ll happily sit my opponent in a corner to deny them space and the ball, and press throughout the whole game if I have to. In wheelchair basketball, I believe that you also need to really understand and communicate with your team because people have different strengths and you need to blend those altogether.
How have you found the first few weeks of being here at the University of Nottingham?
I’m really enjoying it. Getting back into an educational environment has been great and I can still focus on bits of sport within that too because my dissertation is around the discussion that can be had for the Paralympics and Olympics merging, so slightly surprisingly I’m really enjoying academics again.
Did you know much about the university before your decision to study here?
I’d been here quite a bit before I enrolled because I actually competed for the University of Nottingham in BUCS for a year whilst studying at a different university. It was a pretty successful year winning the first ever BUCS Wheelchair Basketball championship at BUCS Big Wednesday 2022! I then retained that title last year too to become a two time BUCS champion which I’m really proud of.
What has your experience been like in both academics and sport as a sport scholar at the University of Nottingham?
I like having the split between my sport and my academics as a scholar here because when I did my undergraduate degree the focus was much heavier on the academic side, but ultimately, I am a professional athlete who needs to focus on my sporting achievements and aims.
Overall, the campus is really good and the facilities are some of the best in the country. We’ve literally got everything here in Nottingham. It’s nice to have the Sports Injury Clinic for sports massages, as well as a great strength and conditioning team that actually understand disability sport and what my body needs. Having dedicated access to the High Performance Zone as a scholar is perfect for me because it eliminates a lot of the stigma around people with disabilities being in the gym.
What are your aims whilst here as part of the Wheelchair Basketball team and beyond?
Hopefully to win a BUCS championship for the University of Nottingham again! That’s the aim! We want to win again – that might not be this year but it’s the ultimate ambition here. Personally I’ve got two years of hard work and dedication to get where I want to be internationally. There’s Commonwealths and World Championships coming up too, so I believe that with two years here with a good team around me I’ll achieve what I aspire to.
Everyone at University of Nottingham Sport is excited to see how James' sporting career continues to progress over the next few years, and wish James all the best with his academics during his time studying with us. Hopefully by the time it's all done, James will have another BUCS medal to add to his collection!
You can find out more about our
Wheelchair Basketball programme by clicking here, as well as
finding out more about our sport scholarships here.
Posted on Friday 24th November 2023