Pirates' ship sails into steady waters with coaches secured

The South West Metro Basketball Association has steadied the Pirate Ship by securing both Brad George and Steve Edwards as their respective women’s and men’s NBL1 head coaches for the next two seasons.

The Pirates women’s team started the season well, but due to injury and other factors, didn’t reach expectations of a finals berth in the COVID-shortened season.

"Sure, it was definitely disappointing to not even make the finals, and had we played the season out, would we have made it then? Who knows?" George said.

"We had the opportunity mid-season to add a significant piece of the puzzle to the team which I believe would have absolutely rocketed us into the finals contention, but COVID ended that idea real quick.

"There wasn’t one particular thing that happened that made the season challenging, it was just a combination of a bunch of little things but that’s no excuse.

"At the end of the day, we underperformed and we need to get better."

George has been at the helm of the Pirate Ship for two seasons and is looking forward to some stability and longevity within the club until the end of 2023.

"It’s a great club with a great vision now, and the ability to reach our goals," he said.

"There are good people there who care about the program and most importantly, care about the people and that’s what made my decision easy."

The Pirates men’s team is also looking forward to stable times ahead with the return of Steve Edwards.

The club's Coaching Director took over last season after Round 2 and despite not getting too many wins on the board, he molded the group to play hard, play tough and compete in every single game.

And compete they did.

"We took pride in ourselves at taking the fight to our opponents, no matter who they were," Edwards said.

"We rarely got blown out in what could have looked like a David and Goliath match-up, so I am proud of the boys and like the solid foundation we’ve built for the coming seasons.

"Like many others, I was excited by the Game Day Experience off the floor and we’re looking to match that excitement with our on-floor product moving forward."

A solid foundation is something the Pirates are accustomed to and securing both George and Edwards for two seasons sets the Pirates up to continue building on that foundation resulting in longevity, stability and continuity within the program.

"I think that’s one of the things we really wanted to get right for the club moving forward. We’ve had great coaches in the past, but for whatever reason, it’s been a bit of a revolving door," South West Metro GM, Rod Tankey, said.

"Securing the services of these two great coaches’ long-term and so early in the piece was a priority and puts us in front of the eight ball, allowing the recruitment drive to start now and continue to build on the foundation we set in the past."

Player recruitment for NBL1, 2022 and onwards has already begun for the South West Metro Pirates.

View the 2022 NBL1 roster tracker here.