Claws out for Cats

Lauren Peden, Eastern ReporterEastern Reporter

The Maylands resident (31), who was recently appointed technical assistant coach for Perth’s NBL team, said he would not abandon his Morley-based squad.

‘I’ll still be able to coach the Eagles next season and plan to,’ he said.

After a tough 2010 season with rival SBL side Rockingham Flames, Forde was let go by the club but quickly found a new home with East Perth.

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‘Since then we’ve had two grand final appearances in the men’s and women’s competition, so it was the right move in the long run for everybody,’ Forde said.

He said anything he learnt under the direction of Wildcats’ head coach and head assistant coach could transfer over to his East Perth team.

Forde starts his Wildcats career with a four-day season planning session.

‘Trevor Gleeson is the new head coach, so he’ll be looking to outline his systems and the best way to implement them,’ he said.

‘My role deals with game footage for scouting purposes. I will work closely with Andy Stewart who is the head assistant coach, as well as assisting him with the Wildcats Academy.

‘It’s a surreal feeling and I feel extremely grateful for this opportunity. It’s something I’ve been working towards for some time now, so I’m happy the hard work has started to get me these chances to progress in my career.’

Forde said he had been involved with the Wildcats on a voluntary part-time basis for the past two seasons.

‘But that was mainly to do with my professional development as a coach, so the change to becoming full time makes it a smooth transition for me being familiar already with the players and staff,’ he said.

‘Last season assistant coach Adam Tatalovich showed me how to operate the computer software we use for games, so I’ll need to continue and strengthen my skills there as that will be a large part of my job, as well as increasing my knowledge in recognising how other teams run their sets on the court and cataloguing them for the coaches and players.’

He said he was gearing up for the preseason, which was set to start in a few weeks.

‘What I’m expecting is a level of professionalism and pride that not only the players and coaching staff abide by, but also from upper management and down,’ he said.

‘When people talk about Wildcats, they talk about championships.’