Having recently secured a NBL1 South licence for the next 2 years, the Melbourne Tigers are excited to announce the appointment of the senior coaches for 2024.
General Manager for Melbourne Central Basketball Association (MCBA) and Melbourne Tigers, Sophie Williams said “it is an exciting time to be involved in the Tigers NBL1 program for 2024 and we are looking forward to continued success on the court with a strong coaching team at the helm” Following a much-improved NBL1 season in 2023 in just missing out on the finals, the Tigers’ men will again be led by Andrew Gaze as the head coach and Jay Lomer as his assistant.
On season 2024 Jay Lomer said: “It’s exciting to be a part of the returning coaching staff under Andrew for the 2024 season. It provides strong continuity to the plans, structures and processes that have been established over the past few seasons as we build this strong and lasting Tigers’ culture with an exciting and talented roster.”
There will be a change of guard for the Tigers NBL1 women, with Kaleb Sclater taking the helm from Warrick Giddy. Kaleb took the Tigers’ youth women to top of the ladder and narrowly missing out on the Grand Final in the BigV Youth Championship division in 2023. Kaleb assisted with the NBL1 and is very familiar with the Tigers’ players, the club and athletes around the country and will be looking to put together a strong group to push the Tigers up the NBL1 South ladder in 2024.
Kaleb said, “This is a massive honour and privilege for me to be given the opportunity to lead the Melbourne Tigers women’s program in 2024. The Tiger’s club is an iconic name in the basketball landscape with a rich history and I strive to honour that history with the program that we will build. I grew up a fan of the Melbourne Tigers and really looked up to a lot of the names that I am now working alongside, which makes me pinch myself”.
Kaleb welcomes Mat Holmes as an assistant with additional assistants to be announced shortly. Mat Holmes hails from the strong basketball centre of Korumburra and holds the position of the Gippsland Hub (Coaching) Lead for Basketball Victoria (BV) and is the Victorian Country U16 Girls State Head Coach. Mat is currently a physio and assistant coach with the Bendigo Spirit’s WNBL team having extensive knowledge and experience to impart on the Tigers’ senior women’s group.
For the Tigers’ Youth Championship Men (VYCM), having won the title in 2023, will continue with Andrew and Jay at the helm and with Geremy McKay and Av Bajram returning to strengthen the coaching panel and hopefully go back-to-back in 2024.
With Kaleb stepping up to the NBL1, the new youth league women’s head coach will be Ed Summers. Ed has been coaching Basketball for over 20 years, with much of his work in Sydney. Before moving to Melbourne, he ran the Sydney Kings & Sydney Flames junior academies, working closely with the senior teams. Ed has coached representative Basketball at Northern Suburbs in Sydney for 10 years, coaching Youth League and various junior age groups. Highlights of his coaching career would include coaching NSW Metro Women’s teams and the Australian 3×3 U17 team. Overall, it will be another exciting year for the senior Tigers’ teams in 2024!