Isaac
Years ago
Stirling reappointed for two years
OPALS HEAD COACH JAN STIRLING RE-APPOINTED
Following the unanimous recommendation of a five member review panel and its endorsement by the Board of Directors, Basketball Australia is proud to announce the re-appointment of Jan Stirling as head coach of the national women's program (the Opals) for the next two years.
The announcement of the head coach of the national men's program (the Boomers) will occur on Wednesday morning.
Stirling led the defencejobs Opals to a bronze medal at the 2002 FIBA world championship in China, to silver at the 2004 Olympics in Athens, to gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne and most recently to gold at the 2006 FIBA world championship in Brazil.
"It must be understood quite clearly that the world championship gold medal in 2006 was the end result of many years of hard work," Stirling said.
"Now there is a great sense of belief in the group we have that we can win a gold medal at the Olympics in Beijing.
"We know what is needed to get to the gold medal game and we know what is required to win it."
Stirling has had a long and illustrious association with Australian basketball, dating back to 1974 when she suited up as a player for the Opals. After five years of service she turned her attention to coaching and led the Adelaide Lightning to 12 straight Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) finals appearances between 1993 and 2004, winning championships in 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1998.
She was WNBL Coach of the Year in 1993, she became the assistant coach of the Opals in 1995 and was elevated to the position of head coach in 2001.
"Now that we are on top or close to it, staying there is going to be the challenge," Stirling said.
"If we work really hard we could perhaps do something very special."
The Opals are currently ranked number 2 in the world behind the United States, despite their unprecedented victory at the world championship in September.
"America are always going to be flagged number one, it doesn't matter what campaign you go into. They won bronze at the worlds, but I am sure they'll still be rated number one for the Olympics, so there is that hurdle."
Basketball Australia President John Maddock said that after the Opals' recent success, the decision to reappoint Stirling was not a difficult one.
"We are about to undergo a major review of our high performance program and it is comforting to know we have Jan Stirling on board for the next two years," he said.
"The results she has achieved with the team speak for themselves."
