Rush Coaches Confirmed
The Ballarat Rush are excited to reveal their coaching line up for the 2017 South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) and Victorian Youth Championship teams.
Heading up the Rush program for a second year is Bendigo Spirit Assistant Coach David Flint “I am very much looking forward to leading the Rush in 2017. After narrowly missing finals in 2016 we have some unfinished business which we need to attend to”.
Flint who was assisted by Darren Govan in 2016 took the Rush to within five points of a SEABL finals campaign with the no result game between Kilsyth and Brisbane having major ramifications on the overall ladder.
Govan who will not be returning in 2017 has been the Rush Assistant Coach for the past two season after being the Youth League Rush Head Coach for the twos years prior.
Rush Elite Teams Chair Kym Cassells thanked Govan for his time and service “While we are sad to see Darren step away from the Assistant Coach role due to work and family commitments, we are delighted that he will be involved in the program with individual skill development sessions.”
While Govan steps away, Cassells is excited to announce that Rob Baker will be joining the Senior Rush program in 2017 as the SEABL Assistant Coach. “Having Rob return to the senior program after a few years away is exciting for the club. He has continued to develop and mature as a coach and we are looking forward to having him contribute to the Rush in the new season”
Baker has been involved in elite coaching for over 10 years, and has been an Assistant Coach for Basketball Victoria Country in the under 18’s Men’s and Women’s program for the past two years.
Baker is a product of the development in the Basketball Ballarat Junior Elite program. Baker coached the u/16 Thrifty Rush to a Country Championship in 2016 and is looking to steer the girls to more success in the 2017 VJBL campaign.
The Senior Rush Program is rounded out with the McDonald’s Ballarat Youth League team which will be headed up by 2016 McDonalds Ballarat Youth League Miners Assistant Coach Marcus Jenkins.
Jenkins has an extensive coaching resume having been a part of the South Australian Country State Program where he was Head Coach of the Under 16 Men’s team. Jenkins was the Head Coach of the Under 18 Men’s Eastern Hill Mavericks in South Australia for two years before he joined the senior Miners program mid-way through 2015 as the Youth League Assistant Coach under Travis Hewish and Eric Hayes.
Cassells said “It is great that Marcus has decided to join the Rush program as our Youth League Head Coach. The feedback we have received on Marcus is incredibly positive and we feel he is the right fit for our program”.
Marcus will be assisted by Megan Collins who was the 2016 McDonalds Youth League Rush Assistant Coach and will be in 2017 the Under 12 Thrifty Rush Head Coach. Basketball Ballarat Senior Elite Teams is also pleased to announce that Under 18 Thrifty Rush Head Coach Meg Clark will be joining the Senior Rush program as the new Cadet Coach using this opportunity to develop her coaching credentials, and contribute to the success of the program.
Cassells commented “We are pleased to be able to provide Marcus with plenty of support. Having Megan back on board is great for the program and the girls to have a familiar face and with Meg as a cadet coach we continue to bridge the gap between senior and junior programs.”
Basketball Ballarat Manager Athlete and Coach Development Nathan Cooper-Brown said “With Marcus crossing over to the Rush program it is a great reminder of the cohesiveness there is between the senior Miners and Rush programs as we all build towards the same goal of being the most professional and elite program in the State of Victoria.”
Now that coaches have been secured the Rush will begin to lock away players for both SEABL and Youth League teams. Currently the only signing is American and Chinese Taipei National team member Joy Burke who is returning for her second season.
The Rush will be holding senior trials in the coming weeks and hope to make some exciting team announcements in the very near future.