Hemel Storm have added a new name to their roster with the signing of 6'6" forward Tom Frederick.

Tom has a highly successful basketball career and was on the verge of signing a major contract in the Italian league, one of Europe's top competitions, when he suffered a career ending Achilles tendon break.

Prior to this he played for Brighton Bears and won the BBL Championship and competed in the European Cup. He has also played professionally in Greece and Spain after graduating from California University, where he captained the team and made the all league team for 4 straight years.

Tom lives in Hemel and is a product of the local development programme (his father Cedi played for the original Hemel Lakers team) playing for Hertfordshire U19, U17 and at U15 level achieving National Championship Runners-Up. This led to National recognition and he represented England U17 and under 19 level under Coach Titmuss, the Director of Coaching at Storm. The highlight of this part of his career was the Nike World Championship where England competed with national teams from USA, Nigeria, Lithuania, Holland, Turkey, and France, finishing 3rd. This was a huge result for an England team. Tom averaged 20 points and 10 rebounds and was then ranked as one of the best 40 players in Europe.

Away from the court Tom held the role of mentor to a group of young offenders delivering multiple speeches to groups of up to 200 people on the benefits of sport and team work in life. This was a motivational speech aimed at youths and parents.

"We are thrilled that Tom wants to make this commitment to our programme" said Coach Tony Harrison. "He knows he has work to do to get in game shape, but his basketball pedigree is second to none. He is a Hemel man and a locally trained player who will be a fantastic role model for young players who can see what can be achieved".

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