The club has named Karen Burton as their Interim Head Coach following the announcement of the imminent departure of Kenrick Liburd. Coach Liburd is moving back to the south of England, to explore new opportunities for him and his family.

Coach Burton first came to the Wildcats as a 12-year-old, whilst a pupil at the Noel Baker School in Derby. She went on to have a highly successful playing career with the Wildcats, moving up the senior ranks before starting her coaching journey. Karen had her first Senior Women’s coaching role as Wildcats Senior Women’s coach in the early 2000s. She followed this with an 8-year stint at Barking Abbey Academy, during which time Coach Burton was also Head Coach of the Great Britain U16 and U18 Women’s National Teams. 

Since moving back to the East Midlands, Karen has served as Assistant Coach for the Wildcats WBBL team, as well as held the position of Head Coach of the University of Nottingham Women’s Basketball Programme and our joint WNBL 2 University of Nottingham and Academy Wildcats team. 

Both teams Coach Burton Head Coached had highly successful seasons last year, with the BUCS team gaining promotion to the Premier Division and winning the BUCS Trophy and the WNBL 2 team topping their conference.

One of Coach Burton’s first tasks will be working alongside Wildcats Chairperson, Chris Prior, to put together a competitive squad for the 2023-24 WBBL season. “We are pleased that Karen has taken on the interim role. She is a person who has been through our Club and who cares about its direction and upholding its culture and ethos. I’m looking forward to working with her to bring together a WBBL team
that reflects these things.” Chris Prior.