Causer honoured to coach Giants ahead of home-opener

LOU Causer has entered his first season as an SBL coach willing to learn and develop along with his Goldfields Giants team and while nervous, he is excited to have been given the role.

Causer has been an assistant coach at the Giants for the past three seasons and with Michael Haney standing down following the 2016 season, it was him who became the obvious candidate to replace him.

Remarkably he is yet to even turn 27 so Causer might be young as a head coach but he feels ready for the role.

Obviously the Giants agree with the potential there for coach and team alike to grow over time to create something special.

Young players won't be forgotten as Giants look to rebound 

Causer's coaching stint got off to a tough start with road losses to the Perth Redbacks and East Perth Eagles last weekend.

But now he has his home debut to look forward to on Saturday night against a team that has played in the last two grand finals, the Joondalup Wolves.

It hasn’t been smooth sailing over pre-season for Causer and the Giants either with injuries to key players including Jacob Holmen with Jerrell Sanders brought in as a short-term replacement.

But playing at home in Kalgoorlie always lifts them no matter who is on the court and Causer himself will be excited for the opportunity to be head coach on the home floor for the first time.

Causer admits to a degree of nerves in becoming an SBL coach already, but at the same time he feels ready for the role.

"I'd be lying if I said I wasn’t nervous but I suppose that's part and parcel with being a first time coach, but I'm definitely confident in what I can do," Causer said.

"I feel I've been around the league long enough and have learned a considerable amount having been assistant to Mike the last two years, and the previous year I was helping out with Marcus Taylor.

"I feel like I've been able to sit down since toward the end of last year to put down my philosophy on how I envision my style of play with these guys.

"The butterflies are definitely there coming into the season but I'm confident that if we stick to the game plan that we've implemented that we'll be alright."

Causer is also grateful to the Giants for backing him in by giving him the opportunity but he will always still look at ways to develop and learn knowing he is very much in the infancy of his coaching journey.

"I'm still very humbled to be given this opportunity by the club. I love this club and they have done so much for me with my time in Kalgoorlie," Causer said.

"When I walked into the pre-season Blitz and see guys like Alan Black, Nik Lackovic, Ben Ettridge and Mike Ellis, and you sit next to these guys as a head coach as well, I feel very humbled to be able to sit with them and listen to what they have to say.

"I'm just going to continue to learn and obviously I appreciate every minute I get as a coach because it's all a big learning curve still for me.

"I've talked to a lot of guys and I have a great relationship with Matt Parsons, and he has been fantastic and supportive of me with any questions I've had about starting out as a coach.

"He has told me to not pretend to be anyone else, to just be me and be the best I can be so that has been my philosophy and that's what I will continue to do."

Photo by AndMedia




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