Worthington selection marks historic move for program

In a historic move for the NBL1 club, the Northern Star Resources Goldfields Giants would like to announce the appointment of Jaymi Worthington as the women's head coach for the 2024 NBL1 West season.

The appointment will see Worthington become the Kalgoorlie Boulder Basketball
Association’s first female head coach at NBL1 level.

After two years as an assistant coach of the women’s team and a year assisting the women’s division one WABL team, Worthington will next season step into the head coach position, leading the team into its third season in the league.

On her appointment, Worthington said she is ready to take this next step in her coaching
career and is excited to build on the foundation already laid.

“It’s very exciting – it's obviously going to be a challenge as it's something I haven't done
before but you've got to start somewhere,” she said.

“I’m looking forward to building my knowledge and learning and getting some experience – I have reached out to a few people that have coached at this level to try and bounce some ideas off them and get the planning in motion for the season.

“We need to look at our definition of success and I think success for us is to have girls in the program that are achieving and as long as we're improving each week that will be my
definition of success for the season.”

The new head coach said it is a passion of hers to keep girls and women in basketball.

“I want this program to succeed to keep girls playing basketball and interested and thriving
and having that opportunity that I didn't have when I was growing up in Kalgoorlie,” she
said.

“Its success will also only make our domestic league stronger as we can filter our girls
through the WABL and NBL1 system with the addition of a couple of imports to help
develop our juniors and current senior players.

“We've had a great build up from Rob (Thomson, former head coach) over the last couple of years and we've got a few girls who have stepped up really well to the league.

“We’ve just got to build on that and while I'm inexperienced in the NBL 1 head role, I am a
hard worker and I will make sure that I'm doing my very best to be the best coach that I can
at this level.”

Worthington hopes to also work toward re-establishing a division one women’s team to
help feed into the NBL1 team.

Kalgoorlie-Boulder Basketball Association president and Goldfields Giants committee chair Rob Tagliaferri said the association and club are looking forward to supporting Worthington in taking the program forward.

“From the committee's perspective, we agreed that it was most probably time for a change
in the program to move forward,” he said.

“The NBL1 and WABL programs are undergoing significant change anyway and the decision fitted in with where we were heading.

“Jaymi has a very strong history in Kalgoorlie-Boulder basketball and her family has been a significant part of the development of the association over a number of years.

“She has come from a pretty significant history of success in the women's program and
ultimately, what we'd like to see is that she replicates that and brings that positive culture
into the women's program.”

Worthington has extensive experience in Kalgoorlie-Boulder's domestic basketball program and has been local club Olympians’ president since 2014.

The president and player-coach has notched 11 women’s division one premierships with
Olympians in the local domestic association.

Worthington’s grandfather Jack Neil started the club in 1954 and her mother Lisa
O’Loughlin, and aunties Debbie Lalich and Janice Wilson were instrumental in securing the club’s division one women’s team as consistent top-contenders.

Worthington’s assistant coaches are yet to be confirmed.

The Giants NBL1 men’s head coach announcement to be made next week.

Related Media:
Worthington takes the reins in history-making appointment - Kalgoorlie Miner (25th November 2023)