Thunder chairman eager to lock down new coach in coming months

Story By Emily Clooney  The advocate

Thunder chairman James Leslie keeping options open for new coach

The hunt for a new North West Thunder coach will get underway sooner rather than later with chairman James Leslie determined to finalise the position in the coming months. 
Leslie was eager to lock down a new coach quickly in order to maximise their recruiting ability heading into the 2024 NBL1 South season. However, it was a process that he did not want to rush with hopes there will be interest from a wide range of prospective coaches.  "We'll start the process in the next two weeks and we want to get the process right," Leslie said.  "We're leaving it pretty open and we won't define what it is that we're looking for. We might get 15 applicants, we might get one. We just have to be open to what comes to the table.  I would love to see someone locked in so they can recruit properly. That's been one of our challenges that we haven't had a roster locked-in until the season rolls around."
The Thunder finished the 2023 season 17^th with seven wins and 15 losses - failing to make play-offs for a second consecutive season.  According to Leslie, there had already been conversations with some Coastal players about their futures with the program.  "I think we'll still retain some good locals and we've had chats with a few, and hopefully there's talented guys that want to stay," he said.  "But outside of that, it might be a completely different makeup and it might be that we see some people that have been involved come back.  There's some cool names being thrown around and if we get the right people that understand what it's like to play here, they might enjoy it more."
The Thunder's need to find a new coach comes after Nick Haywood's three year tenure at the helm ended on July 15 following the side's final game of the home-and-away season.