As the Under 18 & Kevin Coombs Cup Footlocker National Championships tip-off this weekend in Brisbane, QLD from Saturday 8th – Sunday 16th of April, Basketball NSW looks at the Head Coaches and their support staff that will lead their respective teams on the court for a full preview and history.
U18 Country Boys
Head Coach: Callum Wade – Maitland Mustangs
Assistant Coach: Darren Duff – Newcastle Falcons
Assistant Coach: Tom Cranney – Illawarra Hawks
Manager: Todd Turner – Newcastle Falcons
Making his debut as Head Coach is Maitland Mustangs Director of Coaching, Cal Wade. Wade has previously attended seven National Championships as an AC, and will bring his expert first-hand knowledge of the intensity that is the week-long tournament to the forefront after previously working with both the U18 & U16 Country boys. He has also been a long-serving member of the coaching group and part of the BNSW High Performance Programs for several years and currently is the Head Coach of Maitland’s Youth League Men and AC for the NBL1 Men’s team.
Joining Wade on staff is Newcastle’s Darren Duff. Duff will be suiting up for his third consecutive Nationals Campaign with the U18 Country Boys after numerous years as part of the Basketball NSW High-Performance Programs and as a representative coach across all levels from U14s, U16s, U18s and seniors. He currently coaches the U14 Girls JPL and Waratah Men for Falcons.
Another talented coach on the bench is the NBL1 Women’s Head Coach of the Illawarra Hawks, Tom Cranney. Cranney understands the importance of NSW Country culture as he was a former player during their gold medal win in 2014 as part of the U16 Boys team and continues to work with his local association to develop athletes to reach their full potential. He currently is a Development Coach with the Hawks NBL Program and will be attending his first tournament as a coach.
The final name on the bench for Wade is manager Todd Turner hailing from Newcastle. Turner is also a familiar face around NSW state teams as this will be his 17th time involved with a state team role. Todd not only brings managerial experience but another voice of reason to the team as he currently is the Director of Coaching for the Newcastle Falcons.
U18 Country Girls
Head Coach: Adam Marjoram – Basketball NSW
Assistant Coach: Felicity Cook – Coffs Harbour Suns
Assistant Coach: Cindy Bonham – Illawarra Hawks
Assistant Coach: Brodey Fruean – Albury Cougars
Manager: Dhana Davidson – Maitland Mustangs
For the Under 18 Country Women, Lithgow and now Basketball NSW Development Coach Adam Marjoram will be Head Coaching the side that claimed Bronze in 2022. This will be Marjoram’s first time as HC, previously attending as an assistant for the Northern Territory U18 Boys in 2021 and U18 Country Boys in 2014. He is currently the head of basketball at the Western Region Academy of Sport and has an extensive history with the NSW Country Basketball program since 2011. In his role at Basketball NSW, he currently oversees the junior development programs such as the John Davidson Country Jamboree, U12 Skills Days and Metro & Country Development Programs.
An exciting time for Marjoram’s U18 Country team is that he has appointed an all-female support staff with all three of his coaching staff ex-NSW Country Juniors with Felicity Cook from the Coffs Harbour Suns and Cindy Bonham from Illawarra Hawks returning after their 3rd placed success at last year’s tournament. They will also be joined by first-timer Brodey Fruean from the Albury Cougars as their third assistant. All three AC’s will bring a wealth of championship experience from their playing experience and are heavily involved in the BNSW High-Performance Programs.
Maitland’s Dhana Davidson makes her long-awaited return to the National Championships, previously overseeing the U20 Women in 2019 & 2020 and will bring her sense of calmness and empathy to the playing group. Davidson currently also manages the NBL1 Maitland Mustangs Women in the 2023 season.
U18 Metro Boys
Head Coach: Reece Potter – Hills Hornets
Assistant Coach: Will Hill – Sydney Comets
Assistant Coach: Lachlan Clark – Manly Warringah Sea Eagles
Manager: Stuart Thom – Hills Hornets
For the U18 Metro Boys side, back in his third year as the Head Coach for the team is Hills Hornets’ Reece Potter. Originally from Maitland, Potter has been heavily involved in the BNSW pathway and has previously been involved with NSW Country state teams in the past before making the move around Australia/Victoria for other coaching roles. He is also currently the Head Coach of Basketball at Knox Grammar and is the NBL1 Men’s Head Coach for the Hornets.
The first of Potter’s support staff is Sydney Comets’ Will Hill. Hill has been the Head Coach for the Comets Youth League, Under 18 and 16 sides for the past ten years. Hill, a former Division 3 College Player, will be attending his fourth Nationals in the AC role.
Lachlan Clark steps into his first Nationals as an AC for the U18 Metro Boys and will be eager to put his best foot forward with the team. He currently coaches for the Basketball Program at Scots College and as a representative coach at his home association of Manly.
Last but not least on the sidelines for the Metro Men is Manager Stuart Thom hailing from the Hills Hornets. Thom is no stranger to the world of understanding the ins and outs of the game as he currently is one of the most prolific Statisticians in the state. This will be his first time in the manager role.
U18 Metro Girls
Head Coach: Renee Garlepp – Norths Bears
Assistant Coach: Danielle D’Morias – Hills Hornets
Assistant Coach: Fleur McIntyre – Sydney Kings
Manager: Natalie Donnelly – Sutherland Sharks
In her second year as the Head Coach of the U18 Metro Girls, Renee Garlepp will lead an all-female roster. She has previously coached the 2021 NSW U20 Women’s ‘White’ team and attended a Nationals as an AC for several metro teams over the years. She is also no stranger to the pressures of playing for a national title, previously represented NSW Country as an Illawarra Junior and played for Australia at the Junior & Senior level before transitioning to coaching. She also won the 2022 NBl1 East Women’s Coach of the Year and continues to coach at the high level within the BNSW High Performance Programs and for her home association, Norths with their NBL1 Women’s side.
Hills Hornets’ Danielle D’Morias steps into the fold as Assistant Coach to Garlepp. D’Morias has been a long-standing member of the Hornets coaching roster, overseeing many junior and senior teams over the years including HC for their Youth League for three years and AC for the Waratah 1 Women’s team for four years.
Coming off back-to-back NBL Championships with the Sydney Kings, Assistant Coach Fleur McIntyre joins Garlepp’s staff as an AC. This will be McIntyre’s 8th Nationals campaign, previously aligned to Western Australia and also coached in NBL1 West for the Cockburn Cougars before she transitioned to NSW to join the Kings. As well as building up extensive coaching experience across both men’s and women’s basketball, McIntyre also had a successful academic career, completing a PhD in health science, and later the head of exercise and sports science at Notre Dame University.
Sydney Uni Flames Championship-winning Manager Natalie Donnelly also joins Garlepp’s trusted all-female support staff. Donnelly previously has managed numerous NSW State Teams including the group at last year’s tournament. She has also been the Team Manager for the Sutherland Sharks Waratah Championship Women’s team for two seasons in 2015 & 2016 and was the Sydney Uni Flames Manager from 2015 including the 2016/17 season when the Flames won the competition.
Kevin Coombs Cup
Head Coach: Brett Stibners
Assistant Coach: Gerry Hewson
Assistant Coach: Shawn Russell
Manager: Brodie Palmer
This year four-time Paralympian Brett Stibners is back in his second stint as the Kevin Coombs Cup Head Coach. After 187 international appearances spanning 15 years, Stibners has won a gold and silver medal at the Paralympics, competed in three world cups winning a gold and two bronze medals and has won six National League titles (NWBL). He currently coaches at the NSW Institute of Sport Wheelchair Basketball program in Wollongong.
BNSW Hall of Fame Member, and one of Australia’s most recognisable Paralympians in the sport of Wheelchair Basketball, Gerry Hewson suits up next to Stibners as an Assistant. He won the first-ever senior men’s Gold medal for Australia during the 1996 Summer Paralympics in Atlanta, for which he received a Medal of the Order of Australia. From there, Hewson continued to impress in the National Wheelchair Basketball League and has coached numerous teams in the NWBL, Australian National Teams and most recently the coach of the 2022 Newcastle Waratah Wheelchair League side.
In the second assistant coach role, Shawn Russell has been named for the NSW team. Russell is also a former Australian Paralympian who made his Rollers debut at the 2009 IWBF Asia-Oceania Championships and competed for Australia at the Rio Paralympics in 2016.He is currently listed as a prominent member of the Australian Rollers Squad for the IWBF Wheelchair Basketball World Championships.
Brodie Palmer steps up into the Manager role for the NSW Kevin Coombs Cup team after a long history of coaching and playing Wheelchair Basketball. Palmer currently works with the Australian Gliders program as an assistant coach and assists in the delivery of local wheelchair basketball in her hometown of Tumut. She also plays with the Sydney Uni Flames in the WNWBL and most recently as captain/coach of Canberra’s Waratah Wheelchair League in 2022.
You can catch all our coaches and our teams live thanks to a subscription to the Daily Telegraph’s KommunityTV.
For the full fixture/results CLICK HERE.
For the highlights from the City v Country match CLICK HERE.