The BIG BBL Preview for the Sheffield Sharks is slightly different to the other posts, with Andrew Bridge - now retired - speaking to us ahead of their new season.The Sharks captured the BBL Trophy much to the surprise of most fans as they were playing the powerful force that is the Leicester Riders, who won everything else!
Bridge has spent the majority of his career at the Sheffield Sharks and Newcastle Eagles and has won a bronze medal with the English basketball team at the 2006 Commonwealth Games.
He believes that it was the right time to leave both the Sheffield Sharks and professional basketball behind.
He said: "There was a combination of things [that led him to retire] - my family lived in Newcastle and I lived in Sheffield, I also had other work opportunities with the Youth Sports Trust."
"The main sporting reason why I decided to retire was to go out as a winner and end my career in a season when we won a trophy."
"There was always a temptation to carry on playing, but I don't think I can do it on a daily basis, I loved playing in the big games as I had more energy but I found it harder against teams who didn't win regularly."
Bridge believes next season could be a successful one for the Sharks, depending on the success of the American imports.
He continued: "I trained with Sheffield last week and they have brought in some good players, I didn't see the American imports but if they are good then the team can finish in the top 3/4."
"The young players at Sheffield have more talent than I had at that age, but they need to understand what it takes to win."
"I never wanted to walk away after a game knowing that someone had tried harder than me on the court."
You can buy tickets to watch Sheffield Sharks HERE.
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