Anonymous
Years ago
New Lady Bandits Head Coach: Michael Brookens
The Commercial Club Bandits Board is pleased to confirm the signing of the new Head Coach of the Lady Bandits for season 2015 and beyond.
The Board interviewed several candidates for the position of Head Coach.
'In total we received 7 applications for the position but the final decision was made easy given the quality of the successful candidate. We are delighted to announce the appointment of Michael Brookens as the new Head Coach of the Lady Bandits', President Michael Mack said today.
‘Michael is currently an Assistant Coach with the WNBL Dandenong Rangers; he is originally from the US but has spent several years in Australia in coaching roles most recently with successful programs Dandenong and Nunawading. In fact, Michael was an assistant coach to the Dandenong Men’s team in 2012 when the Bandits defeated the Rangers for the National Championship.
‘Michael has over 24 years experience as a head coach and player at all levels including High Performance at a Div II University in the US. He is a member of the American Basketball Coaches Association and also has coaching experience throughout the US and Japan.
‘With 4 years experience as a volunteer with the US high performance selection trials, together with his studies of biomechanics and Level IV Master Trainer certification, Michael brings abundant knowledge and experience to our program,’ Mack added.
Brookens was excited to be making the move to Albury-Wodonga. "As Head Coach my success depends on results. I have been a coach most of my life as well as an athlete, so I understand pressure and I understand that there are levels of accountability that have to be met on and off the court. My professionalism, ability to prioritise, organise and make sure things are done correctly, completely and with high quality keeps me in a position to always succeed no matter how high the demands of the position", Michael Brookens said today.
The Board’s decision to appoint a new coach followed a mutual decision with James Ballinger to part ways, given the program was not progressing as we had hoped.
“James understands the Club’s position and is supportive of what we are trying to do. He will be staying in the area and is heavily involved in coaching in junior representative programs, which is great. We thank James for his contribution to the program over the last two years’ Mack said.
Mack acknowledged that there was a lot of hard work to be done to make the program a more competitive force in the League, but felt strongly that the appointment of Michael Brookens was a positive step.
