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11 December 2025  5 min read

Hopkins-Chery calls England women 3x3 coaching role 'ultimate honour'

The side will be aiming to emulate the type of success that saw England's women grab a silver medal at Birmingham 2022, with Hopkins-Chery eager to get to work. 

"It’s an exciting opportunity,” said Hopkins-Chery, who heads up the women’s basketball programme at Cal State Monterey Bay.  

“We'll be busy, but it'll be fun and exciting. The 3x3 game is growing and England’s got some very talented players, some of whom have won medals and competed internationally for England and GB, so there’s experience in the mix as well.” 

Sarah Hopkins-Chery (left) has an extensive coaching resume across the UK and the US and is currently leading the women's programme at NCAA D2 school Cal State Monterey Bay. 

Nurturing basketball talent from Essex to California  

Originally from Essex, Hopkins-Chery’s basketball journey started at Greensward School (now Greensward Academy) with John Szynal and Tony Mescall, before joining Chelmsford Swifts Basketball Club under the tutelage of Paul May and Steve Pearl. It was there where the seeds of a career in coaching and mentorship were sown, picking up coaching responsibilities for various age groups at the club from the age of 16. 

Her first head coaching roles were with the Swifts and Greensward, where she took a Swifts Passerelle girls team to a league title and third place in the national championships and won an U16 English schools title with Greensward. She then garnered further coaching experience at South East Essex Sixth Form College, winning the women’s conference and finishing as runners-up in the men’s. 

America called in 2001, and after finishing her collegiate playing career, Hopkins-Chery worked her way up through basketball coaching roles at St Pius X High School, Park University – where she also worked as a communications instructor – and at the University of California Merced, where she holds the most wins record (103) in the Bobcats' history, and three California Pacific Conference Tournament Championships. 

Currently, she’s taking the Monterey Bay Otters, a NCAA Division II programme that plays in the California Collegiate Athletic Association, through a rebuild and for the last couple of summers has been working with GB squads, leading the U23 3x3 women’s team in the FIBA 3x3 Nations League in Hungary and Poland, as well as coaching with GB U18 and U20 5v5 women’s teams – the latter as head coach during the FIBA U20 Women’s EuroBasket competition. 

Hopkins-Chery has been involved with GB Basketball's age-group campaigns in both 3x3 and 5v5.

National representation the ultimate honour 

Hopkins-Chery also has caps for England at junior and senior level when the country held independent FIBA status and says it was the ‘ultimate honour’ during her playing career. Throwing her name into the hat for the head coaching role for England at next year’s Commonwealth Games was about continuing her journey representing England and using her vast coaching experience to impact the national scene. 

“It's always an honour to be involved with national teams,” added Hopkins-Chery. 

“As a player, GB wasn’t quite a thing back then so I always represented England and then I came to America and that’s where my national team experience ended. It’s huge for me to be able to come back home and be able to help and have an impact on the next generation.  

“I've had to work my way up [through the playing and coaching ranks] and just put in a lot of hours and be dedicated to the process. So, whether it was playing or coaching, I always knew from a young age that I was going to be involved [with basketball]. 

“Being able to play and coach at the national team level, it doesn't get much better than that.” 

Sarah Hopkins-Chery played for England as a junior and senior.

Highest possible podium spot 

At the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, GB’s most capped player, Steph Collins, led the women’s quartet of Shanice Beckford-Norton, Cheridene Green, Chantelle Handy and Hannah Jump to 3x3 silver.  

Hopkins-Chery says her goal is to work with Basketball England and aim for the highest possible podium spot but believes that any outcome is also dependent on the process, and the preparation, ahead of Glasgow 2026. 

“We'll be locked in and making sure we're doing things the right way and we’ve got the right group of players,” said Hopkins-Chery.  

“Just like any sport, 3x3 gives no exception to anybody on any given day. If you follow any of the international 3x3 competitions, there's been some big upsets. 

“It’s been four years nearly since Birmingham 2022 and there's been a lot of growth and change in the 3x3 scene. I think it's about seeing where [the competition] is at now and looking at what prep looks like in this space, England making that next adjustment, including myself, and figuring out what worked or didn’t work last time, embracing collaboration and creating an enjoyable process for this campaign where everyone feels comfortable – leading us to where we want to be on the scoreboard.”

Team England