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US basketball coach in Shenzhen dreams big

Writer: Yang Mei  | Editor: Jane Chen  | From:  | Updated: 2017-07-31

Malcolm Battles

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In the early 1980s, Chinese flocked to the United States to pursue wealth and opportunities, and to eventually realize their “American Dream.” As China’s economy grows stronger, it is attracting many Americans who are seeking their “Chinese Dream.” One of them is Malcolm Battles, a 38-year-old basketball coach, whose dream is to produce as many Chinese NBA players as he can.

His big ambition started with BABA (Battles American Basketball Academy) Club, a basketball training company he founded in Shenzhen eight months ago, which focuses on basketball training for kids and teenagers between the ages of 4 and 18.

Battles said he teaches more than basketball. “For kids, I am not only a basketball coach, but also a life coach. I teach them how to be more respectful, listen to schools more and listen to their parents more. I also teach them English and how to become better men and women in the future,” Battles said.

Although the American has only been in Shenzhen for one year, he has already become his own boss. He attributed such quick success to his rich experience in playing and teaching basketball as well as his popularity among Chinese kids and parents.

Back in his home country, he played one year for the basketball team at the University of New Mexico and then worked as a practice player for the NBA team the Houston Rockets for one year. Battles didn’t want to just be a practice player, so he went to play overseas. He has traveled to 40 countries, including Spain, Italy, Argentina and Venezuela, to play for local basketball clubs. The 6-foot-8-inch (2.07 meters) Battles plays small forward, power forward and center.

His coaching career started only three years ago in Beijing, when he first came to China, and he was hugely popular among the kids and their parents. “The kids and their parents just loved me and I was able to bring 300 to 400 kids to the company in just six months,” Battles said. One year later, he moved to Wuhan, in Central China’s Hubei Province, and became the head coach of the basketball team at China Central Normal University. After he completed that contract, one of his friends invited him to come to Shenzhen to help build a basketball training company. “I came down, I saw the city and I fell in love with it. Shenzhen is one of the most beautiful cities in China,” he said.

The company grew quickly after he joined, which made him think about building his own company. “After working for so many coach companies, I’ve learned how to go to the schools to advertise and how to talk with the headmasters,” he said.

According to Battles, parents bring their kids to BABA Club for various reasons. “Some parents think their kids are fat so they want them to lose weight; some think their kids spend too much time playing video games so they want them to go out and make friends; others think their children are too shy so they want them to be around other people; still others want their kids to learn professional NBA skills.”

In Battles’ classes, he teaches everything to meet the parents’ various needs. “The structure is the same. I teach them to listen, to run and the basic skills. I teach only in English, so their English also improves,” he said.

Battles said that a strong work ethic is what makes an excellent basketball player. “You have to work hard to become the best. You need to practice the skills and always learn new things to become better,” he said.

Now Battles has set up two BABA Club branches in Shenzhen and Shunde, which he manages with his wife and sister. In the future, his dream is to open companies in Dongguan, Guangzhou and even all over China.