Having ticked off its first aim, Whittlesea Pacers women’s side is looking to continue developing its Big V basketball team.
This year, the aim was to win the division 1 championship, and move into the top division state championship next season.
New coach Brett Tidswell said the signs were good for the Pacers to be promoted next season, giving them the chance to play in the state championship division for the first time.
“We got alluded to a couple of weeks ago [from Big V] that we would be in state championship,” Tidswell said.
“The focus was to get into state championship, and we’re really pleased that we’ve achieved that.
“It’s a big jump, and the girls are a bit hesitant at the moment.
“I’m confident that they can do a good job.
Tidswell replaces Shannon Bodley as coach. Bodley retired after winning the division 1 championship. Tidswell had been Bodley’s assistant coach for the past two years. He had previously been the head coach of the Sunbury Jets’ women’s side.
“I’ve always had the ambition to get back into a head coaching role again,” Tidswell said.
“Not much has changed in terms of what I’ve been doing as I had a fair bit to do with the girls the last few seasons.
“It’s a good club, and they’re good girls to work with. It always helps when you are on the same page.”
Tidswell said more than half of this year’s championship side would return next year.
Pacers’ most valuable player and all-star five member Emmie O’Nial heads the list of players coming back.
“It’s going to take some time to be really competitive and play finals,” Tidswell said.
“You need to build a team that isn’t based around just one or two players.
“We want to be competitive, week in and week out. We’re going to apply a lot of the same things we did really well this year.”
Captain Kellie Down has retired, while Tidswell said, at this stage, star import Kimetria Hayden wouldn’t be returning.
Hayden was a member of the division 1 all-star five along side O’Nial.
“There is a possibility [Hayden] could return, but at this stage her role and type of player is likely to be filled by someone else,” he said.
“We might be able to go down a different path with a few of the player signings in the wings.
“We may go an import or we may go with a high-calibre Australian player to fill that spot.”
The Pacers will now have both its women’s and men’s teams in the top division of the Big V competition.
