Gillian Clarges a top class Basketball Coach, Entrepreneur and Teacher who helps young players go from low levels of confidence to top athletic performances whereby they have represented themselves at Club, School, Collegiate, County and International levels. 

Gillian is the Founder of Hoop Skool  Basketball and lives in Dublin, Ireland.  Gillian  worked with Early School leavers for 12 years and in 2018 took a break to commit full-time to her dream to help young people realise their capabilities through the game of basketball. 

To date Gillian has spent the last 20 years mastering her coaching craft and working with 1000s of players in teams, small groups and 1 to 1 settings.  She believe that sport is a fantastic medium to teach life skills. 

Gillian was the Head Girls Coach at St Andrews College in Dublin from 2015 – 2022 and had brought multiple teams to Regional and All-Ireland Finals in her 7 year tenure. She has since left this position to dedicate all her time to her family and Hoop Skool. 

As well as having a background in education, Gillian is a qualified Sports Therapist and brings this knowledge to the core of what she does every time she walks onto the court.  

She believes you can find a spark in every child if you know how to ignite it. It was her own life experience in the basketball world which encouraged her into the education setting and eventually to set up HoopSkool Basketball. It is her biggest classroom and she adores every moment from coaching little basketball ballers to Junior basketball coaches. 

Every time she steps on the court she feels privileged to do so. Basketball in Ireland is evolving and her basketball programmes which focus on skill development, building confidence and competitive play will contribute to a better Ireland where basketball is a sport which is loved by across the country.