Bradford Dragons
About Us
Bradford Dragons Basketball Club is Bradford’s premier basketball club, providing opportunities to play competitive basketball at all levels of the sport, from beginners through to senior National Division 1.
First and foremost the club is based upon a strong sense of community involvement, welcoming participation from all members of the community, irrespective of gender, race or religion. Amongst our core values we promote healthy living, a strong respect for the rules of sporting competition and social inclusion for all – coaches, players, families and basketball supporters alike.
The club was formed in the summer of 2001 by Stuart Culliford, the ex-captain of the Welsh National senior men’s basketball team, in response to the demand from a number of year 11 (under 16’s) boys at Beckfoot School, Bingley who wanted to play competitive Basketball. Initially, this small group of players trained together at Beckfoot school, starting to play friendly matches against similar aged teams from across the West Yorkshire district. After chasing him round West Yorkshire during the 2001/2 season, Stuart finally managed to recruit the Bradford University Coach, Chris Mellor, for the 2002/3 season and Chris has held the post of Head Coach ever since
About the club
The following campaign, the club moved again, this time to the new £4m sports hall at Woodhouse Grove School in Apperley Bridge. Moving up to the under 21’s Bradford league, whilst also introducing training squads at both under 16’s and under 14’s, the Dragons eventually won both the Bradford League and the Bradford League Cup, in only our second season of competitive action.
In 2004, the Dragons stepped things up another gear, entering teams into the English Basketball League in both the under 14’s and under 16’s categories, an under 18’s team into the Bradford League and the ever increasing senior squad into the Yorkshire, Leeds and Bradford leagues. This season also saw the introduction of training squads for under 14’s and under 16’s girls.
The club finally broke through to the ranks of the English Basketball League at senior level in 2005, entering a team into Division 3 North. Finishing fifth in our first season and narrowly missing out on a playoff position.
About the Club
The following season (2006/7) the club were on the move again, to the brand new Zara Sports Centre in Belle View, Bradford. However, in 2008 the Dragons relocated once more, to the new Trinity Green Campus at Bradford College, where the club have played their senior fixtures ever since.
Having spent 5 seasons in the third tier of the English Basketball league, the Dragons finally achieved promotion in the 2009/10 season, going up as the divisional champions and also reaching the semi-final in the end of season playoffs. Having gained some momentum, the club then repeated that success the following season, winning the Division 2 title, to clinch back-to-back promotions and again making the semi-finals of the playoffs.
We have since established ourselves as one of the top clubs within the uppermost flight of the English Basketball League (now renamed the National Basketball League).
The clubs head coach, Chris Mellor, joined the club in 2002 and has been in charge of the senior team the entire time that we have been in the English Basketball League. Amongst Mellor’s many achievements at the club, he was voted Coach of the Year for Division 3 following the 2009/10 season, which he then followed up with the Division 2 award the following season. Mellor was then awarded the prestigious Division 1 Coach of the Year award, following the 2013/14 season in which the Dragons finished fourth and were only narrowly beaten in the semi-final of the end of season playoffs.
For a full history of our senior teams season by season achievements (2005 onwards) please click here.
Throughout the clubs existence, we have always maintained a strong focus upon youth development, providing a natural progression path for the talented young players in and around the Bradford district. We have seen a considerable number of our young players go on to challenge at the senior level of the game and most recently players, such as Zion Tordoff, Eisley Swaine and Mate Okros, have gone on to represent their country in their respective age groups.
In addition to our scheduled youth training sessions, we also run an extensive coaching programme into local schools and the wider community. The club are currently looking into the possibility of relaunching our women’s program, whilst also seeking to introduce our first ever wheelchair team.
