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14 March 2026  8 min read

Leading Her Own Way: Holly Winterburn’s Journey with Great Britain

Yet through every change - new clubs, new countries and a constantly evolving national team environment - one thing has remained constant: her relentless drive to improve.

Today, the Northampton-born guard is a key figure for the Great Britain women's team, a creative playmaker capable of scoring, facilitating and setting the tone on the floor.

Winterburn plays professionally in Europe for Athinaikos, who are on the verge of competing in the EuroCup Women Final at the time of writing, and has built a reputation as one of Britain’s most influential guards in recent years.

But basketball was not always the obvious path.

“I played pretty much every sport growing up,” Winterburn explained. “It was mainly football for most of my childhood.”

Her introduction to basketball was almost accidental - a short lunchtime club at school called Hot Shots.

“They’d come in every Friday lunchtime and run basketball sessions for maybe half an hour. Honestly, I enjoyed it, but I wasn’t crazy about it. I just liked running around with my friends.”

Everything changed when a friend invited her to try a local team.

“In year seven one of my friends played for Northampton and asked me to come along. I went not expecting anything, but I really enjoyed it and took to it. From there I just kind of fell into it and kept moving up through the levels.”

Even as she progressed, Winterburn admits she didn’t initially see herself as a standout player.

“I don’t think I actually believed I was that good until I was thrown in with the professional players at 16 with Leicester Riders,” she added.

Competing against experienced professionals proved to be a defining moment.

“That’s when it clicked that I could have a future in this if I put my mind to it. I was competing well despite the age difference, and from that point I just started competing with myself to be the best I could be.”

 

 

 

 

 

 

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The self-belief was fuelled by a fiercely competitive mindset.

“I’m incredibly competitive,” she said. “When I focus on something, I know I can achieve great things because I’ll just push myself non-stop until I get to where I want to be.”

Ironically, one of the biggest motivational moments of her early career came through disappointment.

“I actually got cut from my first national team camp,” she said with a smile. “It was with England and Matt Pitkin was the coach, so I never let him forget that now.”

At the time, however, the setback stung — and it became the spark that drove her forward.

“I honestly think I needed that experience because it gave me huge motivation to prove him wrong. I came back the next year a completely different player, competed in Division A, and from that point it’s been national teams every summer.”

Along that journey, one coaching relationship has remained a constant: her long-standing connection with Krumesh Patel.

The pair first met when Winterburn was just 13 years old, during her early days at Leicester.

“He was the assistant coach for the Riders pro team and head coach of Charnwood at the time,” she recalled. “It’s crazy that 13 years later we’re still working together.”

Since then their paths have crossed repeatedly — from club basketball to the international stage.

“Every time I end up in a new situation with him coaching me I say, ‘this will probably be the last time he coaches me’ — but it never is,” she laughed.

From Leicester and Charnwood through to London Lions, and now the national team environment, the two have shared much of their basketball journeys together.

“It’s been super cool to share that journey honestly,” Winterburn said. “When we first worked together I was very inexperienced and I did a lot of silly things on the court. He’d shout at me a lot.”

Looking back, she wouldn’t change any of it.

“That’s made me who I am as a player. Now I’m a bit more mature and hopefully do fewer silly things so he doesn’t have to shout at me as much!”

More importantly, the relationship has developed into one built on deep understanding.

“He knows me better than I know myself sometimes — when to talk to me, when to leave me alone, how best to help me. It’s a special connection.”

Winterburn’s national team career began in 2021, and while the programme has seen multiple coaching changes since then, her perspective has remained remarkably calm.

“I can’t say I was ever nervous to be here,” she said. “At the end of the day it’s still just basketball.”

Instead, the national team environment has become something she genuinely looks forward to.

“Every time I come into camp it’s just so much fun seeing friends and catching up with people from all over the world. And obviously playing for your country is an immense honour.”

Interestingly, she believes the GB environment brings out her most confident self.

“I actually think I’m at my most confident when I’m playing for the national team.”

That confidence carries significant responsibility. Within the current squad, Winterburn often finds herself in one of the team’s most influential roles on the court.

“My role here is probably the biggest role I’ll have on any team,” she explained. “That’s a big responsibility — learning how to handle it, how to bring other people along and represent your country properly.”

Leadership, however, is something she approaches in her own way.

“Not everybody is a natural leader and I don’t think I am either in terms of speeches or things like that,” she said. “But I’ll always try to lead by example — on the floor and tactically.”

For Winterburn, authenticity is the key.

“Being a leader is doing it your own way and not copying someone else. Being authentic is the most important thing.”

It’s a role she admits is still evolving.

“It’s not something that comes naturally to me, but it’s definitely becoming easier and I still have room to grow.”

As the national programme continues to develop, Winterburn believes stability will be crucial for future success.

“For this programme to grow and reach its full potential we need continuity,” she said. “It’s been a rollercoaster on and off the court.”

The focus now, she believes, should be simple.

“We need to find our identity, build on it and stop starting from scratch every window. If we find what we’re good at, do it well and fight like hell, I think we can beat anyone.”

Beyond the court, Winterburn also sees a responsibility to help build stronger connections between the national team and the next generation of players.

“I think it’s really important that we engage with fans and create those connections,” she said.

Growing up, she rarely felt that connection herself.

“I started playing around 2011, just before the Olympics, but I didn’t even watch the Olympic team because I had no connection to them.”

That experience has shaped how she approaches her own role now.

“In whatever you pursue, having someone to follow and look up to is important,” she said. “So just being what I didn’t have for the next generation matters a lot to me.”

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Despite everything she has achieved - from multiple domestic titles to becoming a key figure in the GB setup and winning the FIBA EuroCup Women with the London Lions in 2024 - Winterburn remains driven by a mindset that started early in her career.

It is a mindset she would share with the younger version of herself if given the chance.

“I’d probably tell that kid that you don’t have to be perfect,” she reflected.

“Making mistakes is okay — you just have to learn from them.”

Perfectionism, she admits, is something she still wrestles with.

“It’s something I still struggle with now, but it also fuels me to be my best.”

And perhaps that constant push for improvement is exactly what has carried her from a lunchtime school club to the heart of the Great Britain programme - with many more chapters still to come.