U20 & IVOR BURGE AUSTRALIAN JUNIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS COACH PREVIEW

Australian Junior Championships / Coaches / U20 State Squads
Written by Jaylee Ismay
17 April, 2022

Players, coaches and spectators will converge on Mackay Basketball Stadium for the second year in a row for this six-day event from Tuesday 19 to Sunday 24 April. The event will include 97 games across men’s, women’s, and Ivor Burge (for players with an Intellectual disability) competitions, with all states and territories featuring. 

Basketball NSW looks at the Head Coaches and their support staff that will lead their respective teams on court for a full preview and history.

U20 Men

Head Coach: Nathan Kirwan
Assistant Coach: Ben O’Neill
Assistant Coach: Ted Yaghoubian
Manager: Noah Mitchell

In his first appearance as Head Coach for an Australian Junior Championships Nathan Kirwan steps up to the role for the U20 Men. Hailing from the Manly Warringah Sea Eagles, Kirwan has been a familiar face around the basketball community, holding a number of roles and has been involved at Nationals before as an assistant coach for the U16 NSW Metro Men. He is currently the Head Coach for Manly’s NBL1 Men’s team and was formerly the BNSW High Performance Manager and Sydney Kings Development coach. Kirwan will no doubt bring out the best in his team, providing the tools so that each member can succeed in their roles. 

Joining Kirwan in the Assistant Coach positions are Ben O’Neill & Ted Yaghoubian. Norths Bears’ O’Neill will once again be at the forefront of supporting a NSW state team, suiting up for his 12th AJC’s. Over the past five years he has also been the Men and Women’s Head Basketball Coach for the University of Sydney at the Australian University Games. Currently he is the Head Coach of Basketball at Cranbrook School, as well as an International Basketball Scout for the Dallas Mavericks. Pairing as an Assistant Coach, Yaghoubian will also join the staff in a crucial role. Yaghoubian is also from Sea Eagles & Bears territory as he has been coaching U18’s and senior teams over the past ten years for both associations. He has attended two various junior national championships in the past as an assistant coach for the U16 Metro Men before making the shift this year for the U20 age group.

Rounding out the coaching staff is Manager Noah Mitchell. This will be Mitchell’s second consecutive Nationals as the Manager of the NSW Under 20 Men’s Team.  He was previously involved as the assistant manager for the Sydney Comets Under 14’s team that placed 3rd at the 2018 National Club Championships.  He will be looking forward to another great week with the team and a strong result from the boys.

U20 Women

Head Coach: Tom Garlepp
Assistant Coach: Lauren King
Assistant Coach: Rachel Higgisson
Manager: Rechelle Glasson

The reigning Gold Medal Champions are back again with Head Coach Tom Garlepp hungry to go back-to-back with this Under 20’s Women team. Garlepp will be lining up for his fourth time as Head Coach for this age group and has a wealth of experience that will be on show this week. He is the current Head of Basketball at both University of Sydney and St Ignatius’ Riverview and is a Norths Bears local. 

As for Garlepp’s two assistant coaches, he welcomes back two familiar faces in Rachel Higgisson & Lauren King. Another Norths local, Higgisson will commence her third time attending the national event for this age group. She is currently overseeing the Bears Youth Women’s side and is a former Waratah 1 championship player herself. Higgisson will bring a plethora of expertise to Garelpp’s team in the aims of another podium finish.

Another great inclusion to Garlepp’s support staff is Ballina Basketball’s former Championship player with the Adelaide Lightning and Basketball NSW Development Officer, Lauren King. She has played over 250 games in the WNBL and won a championship with Adelaide in 07/08. This will be her second time assisting Garlepp and will bring an extra advantage to the team with her wealth of knowledge & Basketball IQ. 

Back after a ten year hiatus sees Manager Rechelle Glasson back for the U20 NSW Women. No stranger to the elite level of basketball, she is currently the Manager of the Maitland Mustangs Men’s NBL1 East side and will bring a special sense of enthusiasm to the team.  

Ivor Burge Men

Head Coach: Paul O’Neill
Assistant Coach: Mick Harris
Manager: Susan Skellett

Leading the Ivor Burge Men as Head Coach is Sutherland’s Paul O’Neill. O’Neill has been at the helm since 2018 and has previously coached at the Sydney South Special Olympics for the past two decades as well as a Head Coach for a Sports School for 25 years. In his 35 years experience, O’Neill has done it all from administration, board, governance and Coaching and will once again bring out the best in each and every member of the team.

Matching up with O’Neill is Mick Harris who has also been a part of the Ivor Burge State Team since 2018. Harris has been involved in multiple sports (he is also a Skiing and Snowboarding coach) and in developing athletes who seldom get the accolades nor breaks they deserve. His coaching credentials include the Special Olympics, Austria World Games,Trans Tasman in Cairns, Asia Pacific Australian Team in Newcastle and Adelaide, Melbourne and Canberra  National Games.

In the Manager position is fresh faced Susan Skellet who will be attending her first Australian Junior Championships. Skellet has already proved to be an instrumental member of the team, securing a number of sponsorships for the side to help support the Ivor Burge program. She will bring a wealth of experience in management and organisation, having run simultaneously a number of high rise five star hotels as well as being representative Manager at Hornsby.

Ivor Burge Women

Head Coach: Cheryl Wills
Assistant Coach: Rose Parmenter
Manager: Rosalind Wells-Davies

In her first appearance at the national tournament, first time Head Coach for the Ivor Burge Women is Cheryl Wills. Wills is no stranger to sitting on the bench as she has been an association coach at Newcastle Basketball for a number of years. Wills is eager to start the tournament off with a bang and will use her good communication skills to assist this young group of talented athletes. 

Moss Vale Life Member Rose Parmenter is back for her third AJC. She has previously worked with the side in both their silver and gold medal wins over the past few years and is eager to make another medal clash. She has also coached and managed many BNSW programs from the John Davidson Jamboree and the Australian Country Junior Basketball Championships and the State Performance Program. Parmenter will be a guiding light during the critical moments of every match. 

In her first time as manager at the Nationals, Ros Wells-Davies will suit up in the coaching line up. She has coached and managed over 30 years in numerous teams throughout three different clubs and is a Life Member of Cessnock Basketball. She has recently assisted BNSW in a number of programs such as the I AM A GIRL Legacy Program and Country Development Programs. Wells-Davies will use her past playing and coaching experiences to assist not only the coaching staff but also help the girls stay focused and ready to take home another medal. 

Event Information:

This championship sees two events running side by side, the U20 Championship (men and women) and the Ivor Burge Championship (men and women).

The Ivor Burge Championship is for athletes with an intellectual disability as per the VIRTUS classification requirements.

All games will be held at: Mackay Basketball Stadium – 107 Juliet Street, South Mackay, QLD.

The 2022 Under 20 Championships and Ivor Burge Championships will be held from Tuesday 19th April to Sunday 24th April.

Tuesday 19th April: Pool Games
Wednesday 20th April: Pool Games
Thursday 21st April: Pool Games
Friday 22nd April: Quarter Finals & Classification
Saturday 23rd April: Semi Finals & Classification
Sunday 24th April: Grand Final, Play Offs & Closing Ceremony

Fixture

Click here for fixture.

Tickets

Click here for tickets.

Click here to be directed to Basketball Australia’s event page.