Brian Findlay

Brian first became involved with basketball when Toni Szifris came to work at the same school (then Niddrie Marsichal HS, later Castlebrae HS) in the 1970s. Together, they later started the Jack Kane Kool Kats in the mid-1980s, and Brian remained involved with the female side of the Club for four decades. Toni and Brian won numerous Scottish school and under-age Club titles during those early years including a run when they won the U18 girls cup six times in a row. In 1993, they coached the women’s side to their first Senior National League Title.

After Toni moved across to the Men’s team, Brian coached alongside Ben Gunn on the women’s side of the Club for the next 25 years. Brian led the U18s and Ben, the Seniors, with each acting as assistant for each other. Their partnership led to even more success, and as Head Coach, Brian led our U18 women’s programme to over 20+ national titles and developed many young female players who went on to play for Scotland and Great Britain. Their partnership continued on the international stage with Brian assisting Ben in coaching both the U18 and Senior Women National Teams for a number of years.

Brian has also been instrumental in the running of the Club throughout its entire existence. He served on the Club’s management committee for many years and arranged the entire Club’s fixtures for well over a decade. As a chemistry teacher at Portobello High School, he also helped shape that strong relationship that has brought so many young players to the game of basketball and our Club, as well as continuing to win many a Scottish schools cup in his time at the school.