Basketball Hawthorn is pleased to announce the Hawthorn Magic Senior Coaching appointments for the 2020 Big V season.
Basketball Hawthorn recently completed an extensive review of the Hawthorn Magic Senior Program and all coaching positions. This deliberate and thorough review was embarked upon to ensure that Hawthorn Magic is well positioned for growth and success in the years ahead. Following this review, the decision has been made to appoint the following coaches:
2020 Hawthorn Magic Senior Coaches
Senior Men – Dion Jewell
Senior Women – Jai Cesari
Youth Men – Shawn King
Youth Women – Scott Delzoppo
Off the back of a Championship in Division 1 Women, Jai Cesari has been re-appointed Head Coach of the Senior Women’s team, as they embark on their first season in Big V Championship Division.
Basketball Hawthorn General Manager, Brock Rogers, is looking forward to what Jai and the Senior Women’s team can achieve in 2020.
“Under the guidance of Jai we have been able to build a strong sustainable women’s program that has put us in a great position to be competitive at the highest level possible for our program, and he has been able to achieve this whilst still developing a large number of local talent”.
“This was evident in Game 2 of the Grand Final series where we finished the game with five locals on the court. Each one of them had played their junior basketball with Hawthorn Magic”, said Rogers.
Mr. Rogers is equally exciting about the appointment of Dion Jewell as Senior Men’s Head Coach.
“We had an opportunity to review our program from head to toe, and following that process we had a clear idea on what we required from our Head Coach moving forward”.
“Dion posses the skills and characteristics to help drive our program forward following the work that has been completed over the last few years putting the foundations in place”.
The appointment of Dion will also lead to a stronger and improved connection between the Junior and Senior Magic Programs, which helped drive the appointments of both Youth team coaches.
Shawn King will return as Youth Men’s Head Coach in 2020, whilst Scott Delzoppo will lead the Youth Women’s team for the very first time.
“It was clear from our review that we needed to make changes in the youth age groups (Under 18s, Under 21s, Youth) to ensure that we provide the best environment possible for our athletes to develop into senior quality players”.
“We are excited that both Shawn and Scott will coach Under 18 and Youth teams in 2020, further enhancing the programs ability to integrate athletes from junior to senior basketball”.
2020 is sure to be an exciting year for the program with a new brand, fresh new look and for the very first time in program history all four teams will be competing in ‘Championship Division’ in their respective competitions, with the program now having its full sights set on NBL1 in the near future.
“Ahead of the 2019 season the program had one important objective; to get the Senior Women into ‘Championship Division’, and Jai along with a fantastic group of players were able to accomplish that goal”, said Rogers.
Basketball Hawthorn would like to take this opportunity to thank outgoing coaches, Peter Godfrey and Gary Fox for their contribution to the program.
“Peter came into the program after years of just struggling to avoid relegation, and he was able to change the culture and get the players and everyone involved to believe that we could be more than just making up the numbers each year”.
“Peter was able to set the much needed foundations for our program, whilst establishing a culture that the program could be proud of, and for those reasons the program will be forever in debt to Peter”, said Rogers.
“Gary stepped in very late following a last minute retirement, however with his experience and knowledge he was able to move into the role smoothly to ensure the the girls didn’t miss a beat, and continue their growth and development”, said Rogers.
The 2020 Big V season will kick-off in mid March 2020, with pre-season to commence for all teams in early November.
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For further information about Hawthorn Magic, Big V or the coaching appointments, please contact Basketball Hawthorn, General Manager, Brock Rogers via gm@hawthornmagic.com.au
