Shaun Caven knows a thing or two about the commitment it takes to excel in sports. As former head coach of Great Britain’s national kayaking team, he has coached athletes on the Olympic level.
So when he moved to Oklahoma City last year to become head kayaking/canoeing coach for the Chesapeake Boathouse Foundation, Coach Caven wasted no time exploring the local sports scene. The longtime soccer aficionado decided to give NBA basketball a look.
“I got here on a Sunday and Tuesday, probably, I went to my first game of the Thunder,” said the 42-year-old.
“I thought it was the best thing ever. It’s so much better than soccer in the UK. The atmosphere’s better. There’s more entertainment and it never stops. It’s more fun and family-friendly. I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a soccer match in the UK, but it’s a pretty intimidating experience.”
Shaun ended up attending nearly every Thunder home game during the 2009-10 season. In January, he was among a group of Thunder fans who won a Dallas road trip to see the team play the Mavericks at the American Airlines Center.
A Thunder game even served as the location for one of Shaun’s first dates with Kelly, the woman who is now his fiancée. The couple plans to set a wedding date for next April. They just need to make sure the big day won’t conflict with a home game.
Just another reason Coach Caven is now a Thunder devotee.
“Now I’m more interested in what happened in the NBA Draft than I was in the World Cup,” he said.
Thunder fans are welcome to paddle on over to THUNDERALLY, an online, interactive community that celebrates all things Thunder.Phil Bacharach is the Director of Corporate Communications for the Thunder. He is looking for die-hard Thunder fans throughout the world. If you or somebody you know bleeds Thunder blue, contact Phil by clicking here