Grantley Bernard to lead the Lady Cats in 2010

By Tom King

 

Well known in local and national basketball circles, Grantley Bernard will bring an unrivaled passion for the game to the Lady Cats.

A coach at both domestic senior and junior representative level, Grantley sees his appointment to Basketball Geelong's top-coaching job as a natural progression.

He guided the Cats under 16 girls squad to the VJBL VC finals series in 2009, having previously coached Geelong's under 20 men's and women's teams in the 1980s.

Grantley is also a stalwart of the Pivot City club, having coached both the senior women and under 16 girls squads.

"I will bring to the position my passion, knowledge, authority and drive to win while also having an eye to develop players," said Grantley.

"As a coach I am structured, organised, disciplined and committed to taking the program forward, while setting the standard for BG’s overall rep program.

"There is no doubt there is a lot of work to be done with the Basketball Geelong Big V women’s program, but it is a challenge I am willing to be involved in."

Grantley's also one of the most respected figures in the Australian basketball media, having been named NBL "Writer of the Year" on six occasions and "WNBL Writer of the Year" twice

Try-outs for the Lady Cats squad are expected to be held in the coming weeks, with the 2010 Big V Championship season to tip-off in March.