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4 March 2026  5 min read

A coach's life-long goal to prioritise girls' basketball in Northampton

"Morning, coach," rings around her like a flock of buzzing bees as she smiles and acknowledges the pupils and fellow teachers. Highly respected and greatly appreciated, Goodrich has earned every inch of respect within the strong basketball community in Northampton. 

Coach Goodrich heads the basketball programme at the Northampton School for Girls, working with players from Year 7 up to the U19 sides.  

Alongside this, she serves as administrator of Northants Basketball Club, one of the largest clubs in the country. Both roles are based at the same venue, creating a clear and natural progression pathway for girls, from their first experience of basketball through to high-level competition. 

"At the club, we pride ourselves in not just running the teams, but we also having an open basketball community within young girls and even mums in Northampton," coach Goodrich said.  

"In school, I also deliver curriculum for years seven, eight and nine, as well as open sessions, so it's not just about the elite side at Northampton School for Girls, but it’s about learning as a team and enjoying yourself."

NSG at the 2025 U14 Dynamik National Schools Finals

A pathway that brings success and decorated graduates 

Under coach Goodrich’s mentorship, NSG has achieved a great deal of success in the past 20 years, with the most recent being in 2025, when Northampton School for Girls won the U14 Dynamik National Schools title and claimed Jr. NBA titles in London at both Year 7 and Year 8 levels.  

What Coach Goodrich was particularly impressed by was the way the girls travelled to the capital and overcame larger schools, based in British basketball hotbeds around the London area, proving that talent and preparation can rival traditional strongholds. 

"Winning the under-14 Dynamik Schools and also winning the year seven girls and the year eight girls junior NBA was incredibly rewarding," Coach Goodrich beamed.  

"The girls absolutely loved it, and they loved travelling to London for the Jr. NBA, which is where we played a lot of our games and the finals.  

"We shocked some of the schools in London, mainly because we are a school from outside the capital, which could go and actually win a competition. It made me really proud of the girls, and they loved the experience."

Coach Goodrich’s impact is also evident in the number of former players who have progressed to national programmes.  

Notable alumni include British basketball’s decorated women’s player, Holly Winterburn, who has won 14 British basketball titles at the senior level and Athena Thompson, a former Northampton standout and Great Britain junior, who now plays in the United States at Blair Academy.  

Both journeys started at Northants Basketball Club. 

These celebrations are exactly what Coach Goodrich hoped for, with a career in basketball spanning more than half a century.  

Now 60, her own journey began at just nine under the guidance of her PE teacher, Martin Spencer. From those early lessons, Goodrich progressed to become a National League and national teams player before transitioning fully into coaching, where her influence continues to shape and mould the sport. 

Alongside Spencer, Coach Goodrich also met John Collins, who was brought to the area to coach the WNBL side and then served as the county’s basketball development officer. 

"Obviously, it was a sport I got involved with, and I really enjoyed it," she recounted. "I was a teenager playing senior NBL, which was a great experience. It was John who encouraged me to take up coaching. 

"Once I stopped playing, I wanted to keep coaching. And to this day, John is still involved with Northants Basketball Club, and I don't think he'll mind me saying that, at 84, he is still coaching.  

"I think he's in his 62nd year of coaching, so having someone like that around our club is like a legacy there. And that's why basketball here has kept going from strength to strength."

NSG celebrating Jr. NBA glory

A fun place to play a fun sport 

Beyond elite teams, Northants’ philosophy prioritises giving girls opportunities to play and develop at all levels. 

The community links are strong, including collaboration with Chloe Burdett’s Just Play programme, delivering basketball to primary school-aged girls. 

Burdett, a former player of Goodrich’s, is now giving back locally. There is even a Just Mums session, offering adult women, many of them mothers of players, the chance to try basketball. 

With the club boasting teams from under-11 to under-16, Goodrich’s legacy is clear: a thriving, inclusive pathway for girls in basketball. 

And with so many girls playing at NSG, what could be more promising than that? 

Find out more about Northants Basketball Club

Words by John Hobbs