A DOUBLE WORLD CHAMP HONOURED IN HER ‘OTHER’ SPORT

Deslea Wrathall (Te Āti Awa) was already a world champion in touch and softball before the sport she devoted the most time to bestowed upon her the ultimate accolade. 

In May Wrathall was inducted into the New Zealand Basketball Hall of Fame.

In four decades of service, Wrathall has played for the Tall Ferns and coached around the world – including a stint at the University of North Carolina; alma mater of Michael Jordan

In 2003 Wrathall was the New Zealand Breakers’ trainer in their inaugural Australian National Basketball League season.  

A recent presentation she made to FIBA (the international basketball federation) and the World Association of Basketball Coaches was selected as one of the top 10 presentations from women around the world.

It’s at the age-group level where Wrathall has made the biggest impact. She’s won countless national championships and prepared an estimated 40 players and 10 coaches for professional careers.

Today she is the director of sports at Aotea College in Porirua, game development and operations manager for Porirua Basketball, and she advises Basketball New Zealand on various coaching matters, including looking at strategies to increase participation in the sport, especially for those at risk

Her long service to Porirua was acknowledged with a Service to Sport award in 2023. She is the coach of the Porirua Tane U23 team who have only lost two matches in three years and won a national title in 2021.

“I’ve always been an analytical thinker, breaking down opponents and games is something coaches do for you, but you’ve got to do it yourself,” Wrathall said.

“Often, you’ll be marking athletes who are more physically talented than you. Identifying their strengths and weaknesses goes a long way to stopping them.”

“Several years ago, I went to a seminar run by Patrick Hunt, an Aussie legend who coached the coaches at the Australian Institute of Sport. He is an internationally regarded authority in basketball and he said something which resonated, and which I still use today: ‘Catch the good’. What did we do well today? Even in the worst coaching sessions if you can salvage something positive, you’re on the right track.”

Waitara, 15 km northeast of New Plymouth is an unlikely place from which to end up at the old stomping ground of Michael Jordan. Wrathall is quick to illustrate however that Kiwi sporting champions Howie Tamati, Geri Paul and Issac Luke whakapapa back to Waitara, “a country town where sport was the only thing to do.”

Wrathall grew up playing netball and was only exposed to basketball when she shifted to Auckland. The liberation of being able to move anywhere on the court and do more with the ball provided instant gratification.

“I was defence-oriented. I was blessed with speed. If you’re not blessed with height, you’d better be quick,” Wrathall said.

“In the early 80s, we played the national tournament over a weekend. Then it split into regional tournaments that culminated in Nationals.  The club scene was strong back then and the national club tournament was amazing

“The strongest teams were Napier, Canterbury, Tauranga, Porirua and Wellington. I played for Auckland when we won a title and that was how I got a trial to be eventually selected for New Zealand.”

Wrathall made 13 appearances for the Tall Ferns, including at the 1983 Commonwealth Championships where New Zealand claimed bronze. It wasn’t her first exposure to international sport. 

In 1982 she was a member of the New Zealand women’s White Sox softball team that won the World Championships in Chinese Taipei.

A prodigious batter, Wrathall was later inducted into the New Zealand Softball Hall of Fame. Between 2003 and 2013 she was a sports performance manager for the men’s Black Sox that won World Championships in 2004 and 2013.

In 1991 Wrathall was a member of the New Zealand touch team that shocked Australia to win their only World Cup title. Wrathall was capable of covering all six positions. She was selected as a member of the World Touch Team at that tournament.

“I was exposed to a high level of international play from a young age which gave me an appreciation of how tough it is, but one thing I learned is no matter how good the opposition is, they’re not invincible. They have two arms and two legs like us. Always play hard and never fear them.

“The other thing I learned was how to better handle pressure. How do you prepare for critical moments? 

“Later, when I was at North Carolina I met Anson Dorrance, one of the great soccer coaches. He uses the concept of being in the cauldron. Creating pressure and getting athletes to think quickly about the rest of the responses is something I try to emulate.”

Dorrance owns a career record of 934-88-53 as the women’s head coach at the University of North Carolina. He has won a record 21 NCAA Women’s Soccer Championships and once led his team to a 101-game unbeaten streak. In 1991 he coached the USA women to a World Cup title.

Wrathall stopped playing basketball and relocated to Wellington in 1985. A qualified physical education teacher she took a job at Aotea College and started coaching where she quickly fashioned a reputation for developing well-rounded, hard-working athletes. Her daytime job as a police fitness instructor for 15 years unquestionably shaped some of her methods.

“They don’t like us,” Wrathall laughed. “Don’t take things personally. Policing is a tough job, some officers don’t like fitness, but you have to help them find ways through. Police officers are often working with not-so-pleasant people, but handling different types of personalities is part and parcel of life.

“Sport is such a great vehicle to teach life lessons and respect for rules, officials, teammates and opposition. Good routines and the ups and downs and lessons that come from success and failure.”

Wrathall-coached teams have captured men’s and women’s national titles at Under 16, 19, 23, Māori, senior and master’s levels. Jordan Ngatai, a Tall Black and four-time Australian National Basketball League champion with the New Zealand Breakers was a standout prodigy.   

“The 80s was the school of hard knocks, everything was really physical, and more was better.  Coaches yelled at you and you listened, but they were good people who cared about you on and off the court, so from that perspective not a lot has changed,” Wrathall observed.

“What has changed is understanding around loading, how much is too much, strategies around recovery and longevity.”

With that broader perspective, Wrathall was appointed the New Zealand Breakers’ trainer in their inaugural Australian National Basketball League season in 2003. The Breakers finished with a 12-21 record, but the seeds of growth were established for an enduringly successful franchise.

Wrathall matured from a grassroots figure to a prominent national coach. She was head coach of the Junior Tall Blacks from 2010 to 2013, taking her to places as far-flung as Germany, China, Greece, France and Australia.

At the same time, she was an Oceania Mentor Coach for FIBA, mentoring coaches from Fiji, Tahiti, Noumea, Papua New Guinea and New Zealand.

In 2014 Wrathall became the first female coach in New Zealand to be awarded an International Olympic Committee and FIBA coaching scholarship to the USA. Only seven were available worldwide and Wrathall was sent to the University of North Carolina to expand her education.

“When I got selected, I asked ‘why did they pick me’ and they said you kept asking questions, so you must know something,” Wrathall recalled.

“I got to spend a lot of time with Roy Williams who coached Michael Jordan and is an amazing man.

“The thing I like about Americans is they keep things simple, and Williams taught me ‘know your game plan.’ Previously I was guilty of trying to do everything. Fundamentals like footwork, man-to-man defense, dribbling and shooting are essential but Roy taught me to have greater faith in a system I want to teach.

“Roy is a system coach. He has his methods, recruits players to fit his philosophy, and develops them. This style of coaching is not unusual. It provides a foundational structure and sets a shared understanding of expectations. Most importantly, his system has worked.

“Obviously in Porirua, you have to coach the kids that turn up unlike North Carolina where they have a huge recruitment machine, but I like the tenets of Williams’ system which is to cram as many possessions as possible. Thus, it is inherent for his players to play free of multiple set plays and shot-clock draining possession while avoiding constantly looking at the sideline for a call.”

Williams was assistant coach to the great Dean Smith when Jordan was at North Carolina. During his tenure as assistant coach, North Carolina went 275–61 and won the NCAA national championship in 1982 with Jordan hitting the winning shot. As head coach of the ‘Tar Heels,’ Williams won three NCAA National Championships and fashioned an incredible 903-264 record.

“Kids need to understand they’re not all going to make it, but hard work, enjoyment and being the best you can be, makes you a better person,” Wrathall said.

“All sports are the same: take accountability and responsibility.”

The post A double world champ honoured in her ‘other’ sport appeared first on Newsroom.

2024-09-09T17:02:41Z dg43tfdfdgfd