Leicester Riders have appointed LaTaryl Williams as an Assistant Coach to Head Rob Paternostro, working alongside Phil Gleadell, as the player continues his road to recovery from a severe knee injury.
The Rider’s former captain had surgery following a season ending injury in Riders away game at Milton Keynes on the 27th March. The surgery removed broken elements of the fibia, and reattached the knee ligaments, and the prognosis was a lay-off of at least 4 to 6 months.
Williams is pleased with the progress he is making: “The doctors, and my medical support from Craig Mortimer and Thomas Jeppesen are telling me that I am ahead of schedule,” Williams says. “I am running in the pool, working with weights and generally improving levels of fitness, so I am feeling pretty good about things.
“The surgeon has a little concern that my ACL is not efficient – which means it has not got back full strength and flexibility, but we are hoping to avoid a further operation – fingers crossed. I feel I am still on track to be back to full fitness by Christmas, which was the original estimate.
Meanwhile Williams was delighted to be offered a coaching role with the Riders supporting Paternostro, “I have been with Rob for 4 seasons now, and it will be a great honour to work alongside him. I like to think I have a pretty good idea of what Rob wants to do, and his playing systems, so it should not be too steep a learning curve. I want to move into coaching when my playing career is done, so this will be a great opportunity for me.”
Meanwhile Williams has also applied for his UK residency, and will apply for UK citizenship in due course. Currently he counts as a work permitted player in the BBL, of which each Club is allowed only 3 at any time. If he is successful with becoming a citizen, the options for Riders and Williams will increase significantly.
