Assistant Eagles coach Bill Edwards is looking at fundamentals to develop the squad and the women’s club.
Camera IconAssistant Eagles coach Bill Edwards is looking at fundamentals to develop the squad and the women’s club. Credit: Supplied/Dominique Menegaldo

Playing a long game to develop club culture

Staff ReporterEastern Reporter

Women’s State Basketball League (WSBL) assistant coach Edwards said, under the guidance of new head coach Aaron Berryman, the club would focus on the fundamentals of the game and developing a culture at the club.

‘That might mean we take a step back on the scoreboard, but we are looking at redesigning the club and sending it on its way by instilling consistent behaviours that are reproducible and sustainable,’ he said.

‘It is quite a small club at the moment, but we are looking to fundamentally change it to create a special environment and culture that will mean in four or five years time the Eagles will be a scary club.’

PerthNow Digital Edition.
Your local paper, whenever you want it.

Get in front of tomorrow's news for FREE

Journalism for the curious Australian across politics, business, culture and opinion.

READ NOW

Edwards, who is also the under-18s women’s head coach, said part of that development was training coaches to a high standard.

‘We have assembled a coaching panel where everyone has the ability to coach the SBL team,’ he said.

‘We are also changing a lot of the focus at the club: training habits, player attitudes, conduct and our relation with the community.’

The Eagles WSBL team were knocked out early in the finals series last year, after narrowly losing the premiership decider in 2011.

‘It was unexpected at that time, as there was a lot of development going on and in hindsight we couldn’t sustain it,’ Edwards said.

He said this season the club was looking to develop its inexperienced players by giving them more game time.

– The Eagles will play Cockburn on Saturday night in its first SBL game of the season.