'I am worried a lot' - new Belfast Star coach on fears for family in Lebanon and Irish support

Rafi Olmassakian is glad to concentrate on preparing for a new Super League season.

NORTHERN EXPOSURE: Maurice Jones of Belfast Star, coached this year by Rafi Olmassakian, at the National Basketball Arena for National League launch ahead of the 2024/25 Men's Super League season. Pic: INPHO/Dan Sheridan

The weeks leading up to a new season can be equal parts long and taxing for a coach, especially one taking the reins for the first time. For Rafi Olmassakian, the pressures of taking the helm at Belfast Star in the men’s Super League aren’t so much a pressure as an escape.

For him the couple of hours spent on court with his team make for a brief but welcome respite from the worries he harbours for parents stuck in Lebanon as the country absorbs the ferocious military strikes directed its way by Israel.