By Nicholas Creely
Dandenong Rangers coach Larissa Anderson is one of those people who just seem to relish a challenge. From such a young age, the rising WNBL coach fell in love with basketball, and was instantly drawn to the game and the art of coaching.
“I’ve been playing since the age of seven and I just loved it, and I discovered when I was younger, through all my part-time jobs, that I just loved coaching,” she said.
“I ended up actually going out and starting my own little business doing lots of individual coaching with kids and would also coach at camps and clinics during the year.
“Then going into uni I actually developed my own role model program going into schools.
“It’s always been a big part of me, and it’s what I’ve always wanted to do.
“In my last few seasons while still playing I decided to try and step up and give coaching SEABL a crack at my junior club, the Nunawading Spectres.
“Once I finished WNBL, I had a year off basketball all together and had my beautiful daughter Emma.
“I knew after some time off that I wanted to get back onto coaching and was appointed the SEABL coach at the Dandenong Rangers, and the rest is history.”
Throughout the 39-year-old’s illustrious career, which began in 1995 at the Dandenong Rangers, Anderson would go on to become a great of the Melbourne Boomers, formerly known as the Bulleen Boomers, before returning to the club she is now coaching to significant success.
Anderson has learnt along her journey that in the modern-age of coaching being a people-coach is just as important as having a strong tactical nous.
“I have found no matter who you are coaching, you can never communicate enough,” she said.
“For me, I started at seven, and in between there I lived in Sydney for a few years.
“Collectively over time I’ve just picked up a lot of things from coaches that I’ve noticed they have done well – I’ve picked up a lot of little things over the journey.
“For me, personally, the biggest things are to create a great culture, be honest and upfront, and treat people the way you want to be treated.
“I believe if you know and understand your players, then you are a good step of the way to getting the best out of them.
“Player management is definitely a large part but obviously you still need to have a tactical nous about you for sure.”
Signed as the first-female coach of the Dandenong Rangers in their 25-year WNBL history, Anderson is one of the only professional female sporting coaches in Victoria.
She said it was all worth the effort when it influences the important people in her life.
“I’m pleased that a lot more female coaches have come through and continue to come through.
“There are so many wonderful female coaches that I’ve looked up to over the years,” she said.
“Coaching at the same time as having a family and running a business, it can be done but it is hard – I have to sacrifice a lot of time with family and friends during the season but at the end of the day I really love coaching.
“I hope I’m showing my seven-year-old daughter that anything’s possible, that if mum can chase her dreams, so can she – and right now Emma absolutely loves it – she’s gone from having no interest in the game to being completely obsessed.”
Outside from her life in the sporting bubble, Anderson runs a PR business with her mother Julie.
“To be honest, I sit down sometimes and think ‘ok, how am I going to get all this done?’ – I try and be the best mum and wife I can, and mum and I work really hard.
“It is just her and me. If we are not working, things won’t be done,” she said.
“There are tougher days, for sure, where everything needs to be done at once, but you just find a way and I’m very lucky to have such a wonderful support network with my husband and family – but life can be pretty crazy through the season.”
