Basketball ACT would like to congratulate the following coaches on their appointments to senior competitions for 2020.

Canberra Gunners: Tony Plunkett
Canberra Nationals: Jenny Lonergan
Canberra Gunners Academy: Andrew Martin
Ivor Burge Men: Michelle Cosier
Ivor Burge Women: Sarah Skidmore

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CANBERRA NATIONALS COACHING ANNOUNCEMENT

Following a successful 2019 season, Basketball ACT is pleased to announce Canberra Nationals Head Coach Jenny Lonergan will return to the role for the upcoming Waratah League Season.

Lonergan with more than 20 years of experience joined the program late last season due to representative commitments and says she is looking forward to being able to take the reigns earlier this time around.

“Being able to put my spin and flavour on it from the beginning does excite me and the opportunity it presents,” Lonergan said.

“We got to the Grand Final and fell short so we won’t talk about that. It’s exciting to be able to build upon the success we have with a young core group, and it’d be nice whether it’s me or someone else to create a dynasty here.”

The Nationals mentor is currently part of Paul Goriss’ coaching staff at the UC Capitals for the 2019-20 season, which will include taking the reigns while Goriss joins the Opals at the Asia Cup.

Lonergan hopes she can bring the lessons back to the Waratah League by building a high-performance pathway that will see Canberra locals playing in the WNBL.

“Being an assistant coach in the WNBL was a dream I wasn’t sure I was going to fulfil being a mum and working full-time,” Lonergan said.

“I’ve learnt so much already in just six weeks. There is so much more to learn and be able to put it back in and take us one step closer to the trophy next year.

“We were fortunate to have Keely Froling in our group and she was MVP in the league despite missing games with being an Australian Representative in 3×3 and the opportunities that she had.

“Abby Cubillo really developed in her point guard role and now having the opportunity to work with both of them at the UC Capitals, that partnership is really strong and I’m looking forward to keeping that going.”

With the Head Coaching role now filled, Lonergan will finalise her coaching staff before starting the player recruitment process for the respective squad.

CANBERRA GUNNERS COACHING ANNOUNCEMENT

Basketball ACT is pleased to announce that Former Canberra Gunners player Tony Plunkett will return as Head Coach for the upcoming NSW Waratah League season.

The 63-game-veteran is woven into the Gunners Organisation and is looking forward to continuing the growth of the program which saw improvement in 2019 after leaving the South East Australian Basketball League.

“Last year was a season of consolidation after leaving the SEABL Competition,” Plunkett said.

“This season I am excited because now we’ve established ourselves we can build on what we did last year. We finished lower-middle of the table and we want to do much better than that.

“For a local program with just local players, it’s about providing an opportunity for those guys and represent the ACT as best we can.”

Following the success of the Gunners Development Team winning the 2019 Division 1, Plunkett as the former coach of the Gunners Academy is keen to continue to develop the pathways for players in the Nation’s Capital.

“It is very exciting, there is a clear pathway through ACT Junior representative teams, ACT Under 20s, straight into the Gunners Academy, and hopefully being able to progress from that into the Gunners,” Plunkett said.

With the Head Coaching role now filled, Plunkett will finalise his coaching staff before starting the player recruitment process for the respective squad.