East Perth District Basketball Association (EPDBA) is pleased to announce the appointment of Damien Chalk as Coach and Ben Thompson as Assistant Coach of the Australian Central Eagles’ Men and the re-appointment of Anthony Fletcher as Coach of the Australian Central Eagles’ Women, which compete in the Western Australian State Basketball League (SBL).

The Eagles’ 2009 Men’s Coach Adam Caporn recently advised that he would be leaving the Eagles to pursue interstate coaching experience whilst supporting his partner, Carly Wilson, who recently signed with Canberra Capitals in the Women’s National Basketball League.       

Wilson, Australian Central Eagles’ 2009 Runner-up MVP will play at Canberra under current Australian Opals Coach, Carrie Graf which Wilson hopes will improve her chances of representing Australia at next year's world basketball championships.

EPDBA Managing Director, Brett Nazzari commented on the move “East Perth District Basketball Association is very excited for both Adam and Carly as they pursue their basketball opportunities in Canberra.   We wish them all the best.   The door will always be open for them to return.” 

Men’s Coaching Appointments

The Club did not have to look far for a new Coach with 2009 Assistant Coach Damien Chalk ready to step up and take on the head coaching position and NBL Veteran Ben Thompson to support him as the Assistant Coach.  

Damien has a strong history in the SBL after playing for the Bunbury City Slammers from 1991- 2001 where he was a member of three championship sides.   He has also played in the Queensland Basketball League for the Southern District Spartans where he was a member of two championship sides.  Damien's experience within state leagues, his ability to understand the current players along with the experiences from the 2009 season puts him in a good position for the upcoming 2010 season.

Ben is a National Basketball League (NBL) veteran who joined the Australian Central Eagles last season after winning three Queensland Basketball League (QBL) Championships and an Australian Club Championship.   Ben played 267 NBL games over 10 seasons including the 2003 NBL Grand Final for the Perth Wildcats.  He has played under coaches such as Andrej Lemanis, Alan Black, Mike Ellis, Gordie McLeod and Brian Kerle.   The Eagles are looking forward to Ben bringing this experience to his coaching. 

Ben and Damien have previously been team mates having played in the 2005 and 2006 Queensland Championship Team, Southern District Spartans and as a result they have built up a good understanding and mutual respect for one another which will be conducive to a good coaching relationship.

Coach Chalk said “Ben and I are looking forward to the 2010 season and building on the improvements the team and the club made during the 2009 season.” 

Assistant Coach Thompson said “I am looking forward to assisting Damien during the 2010 season and to develop the younger players even further.  The assistant coaching role is complimentary to my other new role as Director of Development for the East Perth District Basketball Association.” 

Women’s Coaching Re-appointment

Mr Anthony Fletcher has been re-appointed as Coach for the Australian Central Eagles’ Women for the upcoming 2010 SBL season.   EPDBA is pleased to have Anthony back on board for 2010 particularly after the late run in 2009 that saw the Eagles win nine of the last 12 games, just missing out on a finals berth. The late run included wins in a double header Round 16 over SBL Grand Finalists Willetton Tigers and Mandurah Magic.

Anthony has been involved in Basketball on and off the court for the past 25 years including playing for the Bunbury City Slammers during their inaugural years in the SBL competition. 

Coach Anthony Fletcher said “We were pleased with the team’s results in the later half of the season and we are looking forward to an even better performance next season. The preparation starts now.”

Commenting on the appointments, EPDBA Managing Director, Brett Nazzari said “East Perth District Basketball Association is excited to attract and retain people of this calibre which will continue to develop a basketball environment that enables future basketballers to develop within and enjoy the game at the same time”.