Dragons Looking To Breath Fire In 2015

The Camberwell Dragons have wasted little time in looking to strengthen its position within the Big V next season, moving quickly to start planning for a successful 2015 season with a number of key changes to its senior women’s team.

Focused on becoming a consistent finalist and pushing for future championships, the Dragons have announced a change in the coaching set-up and is working hard to secure some new recruits as well.

The Dragons are pleased to announce that three-time Big V Coach of the Year and 2013 D1W championship-winning (Warrandyte) coach Justin Nelson has signed on to lead the senior women until at least the end of 2016.

Camberwell President Justin Boyd is confident the change will see the Dragons be a respected force in senior women’s basketball with an aim of regularly playing in finals and landing titles.

“It gives me great pleasure to welcome Justin Nelson to the Dragons for 2015 and 2016.  He may be in similar colours to his previous club, but it will definitely be a new look after his year on the sidelines away from coaching. His proven success in women’s basketball was a massive draw card to us signing him,” said Boyd.

“The association will draw on Justin’s knowledge and skills to assist them in pushing for a debut finals appearance in Division One women. We are very excited to have Justin at Camberwell, he has already indicated his eagerness to work with the playing group and to build the team for success in 2015.

“The added news that Simon Liebelt has joined Justin on the coaching staff is another great addition for the club. Between them they have years of experience and success coaching women’s basketball. We are looking forward to both Justin and Simon joining us Camberwell,” added Boyd.
Following 10 successful years coaching senior women at Ringwood and Warrandyte, Nelson took a breather in 2014 and says he is now looking forward to the next phase in his coaching career.

“I made the decision about mid-year that I wanted to get back out there next season, it’s a contagious thing being a coach, especially in a great league like the Big V,” said Nelson.

“Camberwell is a vibrant young club with a strong pathway into senior basketball, they have a dynamic junior program and a fantastic community that enjoys coming along to the games. No doubt there was plenty of attraction in what the Dragons had to offer.

“I’ve enjoyed a year at home mowing lawns and painting walls, and I’m not that good at doing either, so I’m glad that’s behind me now and I can get back out there and coach again.”

In another coup for the Dragons, Nelson will be assisted on the sidelines by Simon Liebelt, who joins him after coaching Craigieburn’s senior women for the last three years. It’s a partnership Nelson is looking forward to.

“Together with Simon, we are working hard on assembling a team that will play hard and become a consistent challenger for titles. Make no mistake, the Camberwell Dragons want to play finals and win championships.

“Simon is an excellent coach, really well respected and we’ve always got along well off the court. He has a growing young family and hopefully working alongside me will help ease some of the stress and time commitments that come with being the head coach,” said Nelson, and Liebelt agrees.

“My wife and I have recently added twins to our two older boys and I needed to think about how I can best share my time between everything,” said Liebelt, adding, “Camberwell is heading in the right direction, it’s a fresh approach and I’m looking forward to it.

“Justin is a very inclusive coach, he communicates well and I want to keep expanding my basketball knowledge, so this is an opportunity that fits really well with my family life and what I want to get out of coaching.”

While Nelson and Liebelt will soon meet with the current playing group, they are also keen to hear from players looking for an opportunity to be a part of their plans.

“Our whole focus is to bring together a team that plays hard, gets along with each other and represents themselves and the club with absolute pride. We want players who will strive to be the best they can be and to help the Dragons win championships,” said Nelson.

“We want good role models, players who embrace the juniors and respect the opportunity they have to play their part in this team. We won’t hold tryouts, our focus will be on bringing the right players together, so for sure there are opportunities available for players out there and we want to hear from them,” added Nelson.

And Camberwell’s new coaching staff will waste little time sitting idle during the off-season with a view to getting the team back on court sooner rather than later.

“I’ve always been a big believer in running a professional pre-season, so we’ll look to be back on court at some stage during October and from there the hard work begins. It’s an exciting time ahead for all of us at Camberwell.”