Newly appointed head coaches as well as those returning to the program again highlight the strength of the Basketball Victoria State Team coaching group in 2022.
Kerryn Mitchell (Frankston) has been elevated to Victorian Under-20 Women’s Head Coach after serving as assistant coach as are Brenton O’Brien (Geelong United), Darren Best (Casey) and Joe Borg (Coburg), while Jason Bryant (Wyndham) has been named our Kevin Coombs Cup Head Coach.
Also returning to the head coaching roles for another year include national championship winning head coach Simon Robinson (Doncaster All Abilities), who will shift to the Ivor Burge Men from the Ivor Burge Women, as well as Michael Brookens (Bulleen) Jacqui O’Neill (Sandringham), Haydn Kirkwood (Wodonga), Matt Nunn (Ballarat), Joshua Waight (Shepparton), Mat Holmes (Korumburra) and David Peters (Casey). Basketball Victoria staff members Nathan Cooper-Brown and David Herbert will coach our Under-20 Navy Blue teams.
Basketball Victoria CEO Nick Honey said it was pleasing to have an amazing pool of elite coaches put their hands up for Victorian state team positions, especially throughout the difficulties of 2021.
“Even in the midst of a challenging year with lockdowns and restrictions, we continue to be impressed by the calibre of coaches who want to be part of State Team Program and appreciate those who applied for positions,” Honey said. “Selecting coaches from an elite group shows the great position Victorian basketball is currently in and we’re excited to have the best coaches and staff to support Victoria’s state teams next year.
“We would also like to send a special thanks those players, coaches and staff members who were part of our 2021 state teams who were unable to attend their Australian Junior Championships due to lockdowns and COVID-19 restrictions.
“We would have loved to see all our Under-16, Ivor Burge Women and Kevin Coombs Cup wheelchair basketball teams take part in Australian Junior Championships – their incredible attitude and ability to handle the disappointment of 2021 shows an incredible maturity and professionalism.”
Victorian teams won four silver medals at the 2021 Australian Junior Championships – Victoria Under-20 Men, Victoria Under-20 Women, Victoria Ivor Burge Men and Victoria Metropolitan Under-18 Women – as well as a bronze from the Victoria Country Under-18 Women. We were unable to send teams to the Australian Under-16 Junior Championships, nor were there enough teams that nominated to compete alongside our Victorian Kevin Coombs Cup or Ivor Burge Women’s teams.
Basketball Victoria sends 15 state teams to Australian Junior Championships each year, with female and male participants from both Metropolitan and Country areas featuring in teams including our Ivor Burge (athletes with an intellectual disability), Kevin Coombs Cup (wheelchair basketball), Under-16, Under-18 and Under-20 teams.
The 2022 Australian Junior Championships will be held in Ballarat, Mackay and Perth.
BASKETBALL VICTORIA – 2022 STATE TEAM COACHING STAFF
Victoria Under-20 Women
Head Coach: Kerryn Mitchell (Frankston)
Assistant Coach: Jo Wood (Frankston)
Assistant Coach: Samantha Groves (Dandenong)
Team Manager: Mary-Anne Barton (Shepparton)
Victoria Under-20 Navy Blue Women
Head Coach: David Herbert (Basketball Victoria)
Assistant Coach: Kelly Walker (Diamond Valley)
Assistant Coach: Tegan Cunningham (McKinnon)
Team Manager: TBA
Victoria Under-20 Men
Head Coach: Matt Nunn (Ballarat)
Assistant Coach: Andrew Cutler (Nunawading)
Assistant Coach: Braden Cotter (Knox)
Team Manager: Wayne Bird
Victoria Under-20 Navy Blue Men
Head Coach: Nathan Cooper-Brown (Basketball Victoria)
Assistant Coach: Zach Moult (Kilsyth)
Assistant Coach: TBA
Team Manager: Richard Morin (Ballarat)
Victoria Ivor Burge Women
Head Coach: Joseph Borg (Coburg)
Assistant Coach: Emily Attard
Assistant Coach: Maddie Borg (Coburg)
Team Manager: Kerryn O’Donnell
Victoria Ivor Burge Men
Head Coach: Simon Robinson (Doncaster All Abilities)
Assistant Coach: Justin May (Doncaster All Abilities)
Assistant Coach: Ryan Holloway (Warrandyte)
Team Manager: Karen Paterson
Victoria Country Under-18 Women
Head Coach: Haydn Kirkwood (Wodonga)
Assistant Coach: Joe Turner (Casey)
Assistant Coach: Rebecca McIntyre (Horsham)
Development Coach: Carly Stones (Eltham / Bendigo)
Team Manager: Wendy Campbell (Traralgon)
Victoria Metropolitan Under-18 Women
Head Coach: Mike Brookens (Bulleen)
Assistant Coach: Matt Bongetti (Eltham)
Assistant Coach: Tracey Wightman (Hawthorn)
Development Coach: Megan Jarvis (Keilor)
Team Manager: Katrina Barry (Dandenong)
Victoria Country Under-18 Men
Head Coach: Brenton O’Brien (Geelong United)
Assistant Coach: Hayden Annett (Wallan)
Assistant Coach: Kaleb Sclater (Maffra)
Development Coach: Scott Ramsey (Southern Peninsula)
Team Manager: Ben White (Southern Peninsula)
Victoria Metropolitan Under-18 Men
Head Coach: Darren Best (Casey)
Assistant Coach: Duncan Berg (Dandenong)
Assistant Coach: Matt Shanahan
Development Coach: Brent Andrews (Dandenong)
Team Manager: Mark Sainsbery
Victoria Kevin Coombs Cup
Head Coach: Jason Bryant (Wyndham)
Assistant Coach: Ben Hodgens
Assistant Coach: Gabrielle Smith (Whittlesea)
Team Manager: TBA
Victoria Country Under-16 Women
Head Coach: Mat Holmes (Korumburra)
Assistant Coach: Gail McFarlane (Traralgon)
Assistant Coach: Jo Bowie (Geelong United)
Development Coach: Simon Nicholson (Macedon / Sunbury)
Team Manager: Lisa Chesshire (Terang)
Victoria Metropolitan Under-16 Women
Head Coach: Jacqui O’Neill (Sandringham)
Assistant Coach: Billy Akalo (Wyndham)
Assistant Coach: Hamish Ryan (Hawthorn)
Development Coach: Courtney Gaze-Persson (Melbourne)
Team Manager: Tara Garner (Nunawading)
Victoria Country Under-16 Men
Head Coach: Joshua Waight (Shepparton)
Assistant Coach: Dylan Cole (Keilor)
Assistant Coach: Paul Dawson (Geelong United)
Development Coach: Clayton Bell (Bendigo)
Team Manager: Kira Ryan (Hamilton)
Victoria Metropolitan Under-16 Men
Head Coach: David Peters (Casey)
Assistant Coach: Jarred Kaiser (McKinnon)
Assistant Coach: Scott Christiansen (Frankston)
Development Coach: Nathan Geer (McKinnon)
Team Manager: Paul Groat (Frankston)
