After 11 seasons as an assistant coach with Canada’s senior women’s basketball team, Lisa Thomaidis was promoted to head coach on March 20.

Huskies women’s basketball coach Lisa Thomaidis has been named the new head coach of Canada’s senior women’s team.

Thomaidis has been the national team’s assistant coach for the past 11 seasons, and was given the reigns on March 20.

“It’s a tremendous honour. To be able to coach at the pinnacle of our sport is hugely exciting for me,” Thomaidis said about her new position.

Thomaidis believes her past experience as assistant coach will help her transition into her new role.

“Having the relationships already established with players and staff, with Canada Basketball [and] having an understanding of how our international competitions operate, all that background will really help with taking over the job and the transition that’s inevitably going to take place,” Thomaidis said.

Thomaidis will take over from former head coach Allison McNeill, who led the national team for 11 seasons before stepping down on Dec. 17, 2012.Her departure prompted Canada Basketball to begin looking for a suitable replacement. The organization accepted applications for three months, and drew interest from coaches across the globe.

Choosing a new coach was an important decision; basketball is a high-priority sport for Canada and has been targeted by Own the Podium, an initiative intended to help Canada increase its medal counts at international competitions.

In the end, Thomaidis was honoured to be chosen from the worldwide pool of talented candidates that was considered.

“For me to know that I was the best person for the job sends a lot of confidence my way and will certainly bode well for taking over the program,” she said.

Thomaidis is looking forward to putting her stamp on the team as the new bench boss. Specifically, she hopes to add more offensive power.

“We’ve always been a world-class defensive team,” she said. “For us now, the challenge is to generate a little more offence and if we can combine those two things we’ll be able to continue on this path of success that we’ve started and hopefully take the team to a new level.”

Despite the large commitment that Thomaidis will take on with her new post, she intends to return as the Huskies women’s coach after the one-year professional leave she took this past season.

It’s a tremendous honour. To be able to coach at the pinnacle of our sport is hugely exciting for me.

The schedules for the two teams are complementary. The national team plays most of its games between May and September while the Huskies primarily play from September to March.

Having juggled the two teams as an assistant coach for so many years, Thomaidis has become used to the routine and she believes coaching the national squad will only have positive effects on her role with the Dogs.

This year’s interim head coach, Jill Humbert, will continue leading the Huskies until Aug. 1. Humbert’s future with the team is uncertain at this time, but one thing is clear: next year’s Huskies have a world-class coach in their corner in Lisa Thomaidis.

—
Photo: Raisa Pezderic/Photo Editor