Winston Brown to Take Helm of VK Basketball
Aug 28, 2017
A familiar face will be joining the VK family, as Chief Executive Officer. The club announced
this week that they have chosen Winston Brown to lead the organization in the 2018 season, and grow their management team to five. As the club continues to expand, Brown will step into the executive position and will be responsible for the coordination and oversight of the entire program. “When the opportunity to add someone of Winston’s character and quality to the team became available we felt like we knew we had to seize the opportunity and bring him in,” Founder of Venue Kings and VK Basketball, Anthony Beyrouti, said of the new addition to the team, “he will add great leadership and structure to our non profit as we continue to grow and we couldn’t be more excited!”
Brown comes to the VK organization from Langara College, where he was promoted from assistant to Head Coach for the 2016 season. His background in the sport spans 20 years, with experience coaching various club, high school, and post-secondary school teams.
Although never having held a CEO position before, Brown believes that his previous coaching experience gives him a strong understanding of the game, that he can incorporate into the development of the VK organization.
“I’ve learned a lot from being a coach, but the things I got from Langara was an understanding of the expectations of playing at the next level as well as the time commitment,” he said of the sport at the post secondary level, “one of the things that we need to focus on as a club program, are university coaches. Part of our job is to prepare our kids for playing at the next level—but also the coaches are also going to use us as a resource for identifying VK players that they can recruit to their team.”
Beyrouti, whose role in the club will remain unchanged, founded the VK basketball organization back in 2016, with the idea of giving back. It is a non-profit organization that allows girls of all financial backgrounds to learn and play basketball. Brown believes that this aspect of the club adds another dimension.
“Because the program was founded in charity, we teach our players about becoming young global citizens, and contribution,” Brown said about how VK inspires their players to give back, “we want them to gain an understanding of the importance of charity and contributing to a community.”
Brown is looking forward to the opportunity to influence the game in a different capacity, and have a greater impact on the people involved, including players and coaches.
“The opportunity to grow the game in a different dynamic is exciting, for myself as a coach I had a very finite viewpoint,” he said of the differences between the positions, “but as a CEO I’m not only looking at teams and player development, but also coaches and coaching development, tournaments, provincial competition development; My scope becomes broader.”
VK, as an organization already has a family feel for Brown, who is close friends with several people involved in the club. “I’m excited about the opportunity to show up to work everyday and work with these people. For me it’s incredibly appealing to celebrate victories with colleagues who are also close friends, that part is really special.”
As for his vision for the club, Brown plans on continuing to keep the level of competition high, “the on-court production is amazing, and I want to keep that up,” he said of the team’s performances this past season. What he also wants is for the club to become a resource, with the current VK coaches becoming mentors to the coaches that will come to the club in the future.
Written By: Sarah Reid