2017/18 Under 18 State Team Coaches Announced

After an exhaustive search with many great applicants, Basketball Queensland is pleased to announce the appointment of the coaching staff for the 2017/18 Under 18 Queensland State Teams.

U18 Queensland North Boys – Raymond Cooper (Gladstone)

Ray comes to this position having extensive experience inside the Queensland North state performance program. Ray has been a valued member of the high performance coaching pathway for a number of years, working his way from being an Assistant Coach on an Emerging tour in 2014 to his appointment as state team Head Coach for 2018. Ray has proven he is an exceptional operator based on his success with junior and senior teams from the Gladstone association. Ray has been a feature of the U18 Queensland North program for the past 2 years as an Assistant Coach.

Cooper said “I am very excited to have been given this opportunity from Basketball Queensland and am honoured to be representing the Queensland North program as a state team Head Coach. I am looking forward to working with this group of talented athletes and see it as an opportunity to impact their development, both on and off the court”

U18 Queensland North Girls – Claudia Brassard (Townsville)

Claudia is one of Queensland North’s most credential coaches, having been a state team Head coach, the current WNBL Head Coach with the Townsville Fire & an Assistant Coach on Australian national junior teams. Claudia brings extensive experience at the elite level from her international playing career where she represented team Canada. Claudia has always remained passionate about junior development and gets another opportunity to lead our Queensland North girls in their preparation for a national championship campaign.

Brassard said “I am excited about being involved in the Queensland state program again as I always enjoy working with our best junior players in an environment where I can have a positive impact on their basketball progression. This is a strong group of players and I would expect the team to perform well at nationals. I will endeavour to bring plenty of enthusiasm and passion to the role and will be expecting the same from my athletes”

U18 Queensland South Girls – Darren Allie

This will Darren’s third time representing Queensland as a coach but his first as a Head Coach. Prior to moving over the border, having moved to Queensland due to work commitments in 2016, Darren has spent the last 25 years coaching in NSW. He has had numerous successes during his 8 years (on and off) as the assistant coach for the Sydney Uni Flames WNBL team, the highlight being, winning the WNBL title in 2016-2017.

Over the past 20 years he has been head coach for both men’s and women’s teams in the Waratah Championship League/ABA and has represented NSW Metro, both as a Head and Assistant Coach at AJC’s on many occasions.

Darren said “I’m a big believer that you can work hard and enjoy it at the same time”

U18 Queensland South Boys – Luke Cann (Logan Basketball)

Luke who is currently operations manager at Logan Basketball inc’ and was the 2017 Logan Thunder QBL Women’s Head Coach has had a full, successful and varied coaching career and has been a valued member of the Queensland Basketball family for many years. He is extremely passionate and committed to the sport, a commitment which has paid off, coaching at a representative level with Logan Thunder under 16 who won the State Championships in 2014 and the under 18 girls, who won the State Championship in 2016.

He has played a large role in developing young male and female players through the player pathway, working as the head coach of the South Queensland U17 Girls Emerging Team Coach, travelling with them on the 2016 US Tour and as the head coach of the Queensland U18 South Boys State Team in 2016/17.

Cann Said: “ I am honoured to given another opportunity to lead some of Queensland’s best athletes in a sport I am so enthusiastic and passionate about. We will compete and nurture a positive culture of commitment and hard work which will hopefully see us perform well and leave a positive impact on the athletes of the future”