South West Slammers part ways with women’s NBL1 coach Peter Nalder

The South West Slammers have announced they have parted ways with women’s NBL1 coach Peter Nalder this week after reviewing their program. Slammers chairperson Sean Tilbrook told the South Western Times Julieann Bissaker would now take over as interim coach, with “some good options” for a permanent replacement being interviewed over the next fortnight. Tilbrook said Nalder was a passionate basketball practitioner and the club thanked him for his efforts over the summer. The NBL1 season is just three games in, but Tilbrook said the club decided to make the change early in the season to give them the best chance of turning things around. “It is not where you want to be a few games into the season but the board took the view that it was the right move forward for all parties and we are confident the season will turn around,” Tilbrook said. “We are not expecting the women’s program to win multiple numbers of games this year, what the board and the Slammers community are looking for is a core that we can build on for the future. “We are reasonably confident that we have some good (coaching) options stepping forward that we will be talking to within the next week or two from within the Slammers community.” The Slammers are yet to win a game in the NBL1 West women’s competition this year and have lost their first three games by an average margin of 63 points. Tilbrook said interim coach Bissaker had “no intentions” of taking on the job long term, but would a valuable asset through the transition period. “The program has been good in terms of the vision, but obliviously it is a very young group of girls and the execution has been difficult,” Tilbrook said. “The team cohesion is still good among the girls and the interim coach knows most of them.” The club is set to welcome American import Tyllin Carter, who Tilbrook said would strengthen the program and take pressure off young talls Abbey Hall and Javene Fitch