Sunbury Jets Basketball Association has made a big statement ahead of next season’s Big V season, appointing New Zealand national women’s coach Kennedy Kereama as its women’s coach for the next two years.
And in a bigger boost for Sunbury, Kereama will have dual roles after also being appointed director of coaching.
The New Zealand national said he had no hesitation about making the move to Sunbury from Perth, where he coached WNBL team West Coast Waves, now known as Perth Lynx.
“I guess there are a few contributing factors to signing with Sunbury,” Kereama told
Star Weekly. “I had a conversation with Andrew [Summerville, Sunbury operations manager] about the direction he and the board are looking to take.
“I had some skill sets that were potentially desirable to the club and we talked about the strategic direction of the club and my values aligned with theirs. It was a no-brainer.”
Kereama, a former coach of SEABL club Sandringham, said he was not quite sure when he would arrive in Sunbury but he and his partner always planned to move back to Melbourne and this provided the perfect opportunity.
“This opportunity is the ticket to make the shift a little bit earlier,” he said. “And it’s a lot closer to New Zealand, which also makes it a smart move.
“Meeting people and being shown around Sunbury, I knew it was right.”
He said the director of coaching role would help provide him with stable employment in the industry.
The role will see Kereama work closely with the club’s junior representative players and coaches in many development programs across all age groups.
“I’m passionate about the development of people and basketball and I’m looking forward to sharing my experience with coaches and players and making a positive impact around the club,” he said.
“I was starting to take time to think about the workforce within basketball and looking for a more stable role than just coaching teams in the WNBL, where you’re always fighting for your job. The director of coaching role just made sense.”
Kereama, who has spent time helping Fiji national teams in recent months, has big ambitions at the Jets.
“I want to really shake up the league,” he said. “I have big expectations on myself and I want to win the competition.
“I’ve always been a development coach and the program will take time. We’ll look to recruit players. No one will be handed a singlet, it will have to be earned. There’s a lot I could say that I’ll do, but the first task is identifying young talent.”
Kereama wants the Jets to be a place where players play before moving to higher levels.
“We’re looking to build the program over a number of years,” he said. “We want higher levels to see us as a club where they can draw on the development we’ve done with our players.
“There could be a high turnover of players with players coaching to high levels, WNBL, College, AIS. We want to be getting them ready for WNBL.”
One of Kereama’s aims is to get back young players from Sunbury who are playing with other Big V and SEABL sides.
“There are lots of players who have come through the program and moved on,” he said.
“Sara Blicavs and Kayla Theodore are a couple of examples. I’ll target some of these players to get them back to Sunbury, although getting Sara back would be a big ask. I’ll target some of the younger players who have left.”
Kereama’s commitments with New Zealand’s Tall Ferns will mean he will miss some Jets games.
Former WNBL player and assistant coach Lisa Townsend has been appointed as Jets assistant coach and will take the reins while Kereama is away.
“I’m really happy to have Lisa onboard and we’ve had a working relationship before,” he said. “She’s a straight shooter and I trust her and she’s probably good enough to be head coach. It’s good to have a female role model who played in the WNBL.”
Sunbury Basketball Association president Glenn Ogston is thrilled with the appointment of Kereama, as the club now has four coaches with WNBL or NBL coaching experience.
Kereama joins Andrew Summerville, Andrew Seidel and Brian Ogilvie as the Jets’ four coaches.
“What struck the board, possibly more than his resume, was Kennedy’s ambition to work with us to deliver sustained improvement in our players, coaches and programs,” Ogston said.
“His appointment, in conjunction with other recent additions in basketball operations manager, Andrew Summerville and junior development officer, Chris Tighe sends a clear message to our members and basketball lovers in the region that we are equally committed and equipped to provide elite opportunities as we are to community based participation programs.”
