By JARROD POTTER
STEPPING aside as Dandenong’s SEABL women’s coach was an extremely difficult decision Larissa Anderson knew she had to make.
Leaving an unassailable legacy in SEABL coaching circles, Anderson vacated her winter-league position to focus on the WNBL summer side, after receiving her dream job earlier this year.
Anderson had been weighing up whether or not to continue juggling WNBL and SEABL as she did this year to great effect as Dandenong won a fourth SEABL championship in a 76-63 grand final triumph over Kilsyth.
But with her time and energy focused on the Rangers WNBL campaign, Anderson admitted it was a tough, but necessary decision to resign.
“It’s extremely hard – I’d love to keep doing it,” Anderson said.
“It gets to a point where I’ve been going back and forth for the last 18 months and it’s not fair on my family or the club – it’s fair to give another person a go with an amazing club.
“We’ve got Paps’ (Clare Papavs) 300th game next season and I would’ve loved to have coached her then, but as I have told her I wouldn’t miss it for the world and will be there.”
Her SEABL coaching record will stand as one of the league’s finest, as she coached Dandenong to four SEABL championships.
Her SEABL legacy is also reflected in her current WNBL roster with many players – such as Steph Cumming, Aimie Clydesdale, Amelia Todhunter, Alison Downie, Lauren Scherf and Tenaya Phillips – honing their skills in the SEABL side throughout the years.
“It’s been such a special group and will forever be a special group – I’ll still be involved but it’s important for the process and we have a new voice and someone who fits into the Dandenong culture,” Anderson said.
“We’ve kept the group of girls together – there will still be that key core nucleus ready to go and we will be able to build around it.”
Anderson isn’t lost to the SEABL side by any means – she’ll play a significant part in helping develop the side in tandem with the new coach.
She’ll be a driving force in building a stronger culture throughout the association.
“I’m still going to be involved – I’ll be around in the off-season and work with the girls, help at training and still be heavily involved,” Anderson said.
“We want to find someone who is great for the culture that we can build throughout the Dandenong Basketball Association and to be on and stay together so the senior club stays together and that’s why we’ve gone down that process.”
Applications for the SEABL women’s coaching position close on Monday 30 November and should be directed to Damon Lowery at damon.lowery@dandenongbasketball.com.au, or Trish Fallon at trish.fallon@dandenongbasketball.com.au
