It’s been three years since Livingston basketball ace Leah Stewart signed a dream deal that would see her play in Spain.
Now, after briefly returning home as coach of CB Nou Esplugues in West Lothian’s first International Female Basketball Festival, she admits to feeling more Spanish than Scottish and says she’s loving life in sunnier climes.
Having first made the move abroad with Mann Filter Zaragoza, Leah is in her second year at Esplugues, near Barcelona, and has thrown herself into the Spanish lifestyle – both on and off the court.
So much so that she now speaks English with a Spanish accent.
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The 20-year-old said: “It’s such a good feeling to come back to the Wolves and see how far everyone has come from when I left to go to Spain. When I was last here I was a player and now I’m a coach seeing how the young players are getting on.
“I love the coaching side of things and I’m maybe at the point where I enjoy it more than playing and that might be the road I go down as a career.
“Off the court, life is amazing right now and I’m settled in Spain.
“I’m speaking the language a lot more and interacting with everyone is easier. I’m now thinking in Spanish as well and find it difficult when I come home to talk properly.
“Everything feels like it is fitting into place for me right now.”
About the game itself, and getting to see the young Wolves,she said: “Spanish basketball has a much faster pace than in Scotland but I can see that the Wolves are starting to get there and that is great to see.”
Luis Romero, technical director at Nou Esplugues and Leah’s former coach at the Wolves, says she is proof that West Lothian can produce top basketball talent and has hailed her success in Spain.
He said: “Leah was a fantastic role model in Scotland and, believe me, she is still a fantastic role model in Spain.
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“She has totally surpassed what our expectations were, especially as a coach at just 20. Her under-12 side have just won a very prestigious tournament and they are getting better every game.”
He added: “She has been injured this season but she is still one of the best shooting guards I have seen and we hope next season she will continue to improve
“What she is achieving is fantastic and it shows that West Lothian can produce talent that can compete in the best basketball countries in the world.”
