Bendigo Spirit reappoints Coach Tracy York

Villawood Bendigo Spirit coach Tracy York has been reappointed for a further two years.

The appointment comes as the WNBL club begins to shore up existing players for the 2021-22 season, ahead of what is expected to be a fruitful recruitment campaign.

Tracy said, “At this level, basketball is about building a program, and we are looking forward to some significant steps over the next two seasons to do that.”

General Manager Ben Harvey said “We’ve got a strong focus on providing a pathway from regional Victoria to the second-best competition in the world, and beyond.

“We want to see the next Kristi Harrower, Gabe Richards, Kelly Wilson, Tessa Lavey, or Piper Dunlop come through and show the world what Bendigo can do.

York said she is keen for locals to once again see some great talent running the floor at the new Bendigo Stadium.

“I’m very excited to sign again with the Spirit and look forward to continuing to build the program,”she said.

“As a regional team we want to be able to see and play in front of our fans showcasing our commitment and world-class facilities.

“Community spirit and support is very important, and Bendigo is the best in the world at both those things. Now it’s the team’s turn to show our support for our local fans.”

York’s immediate focus is on retaining players from last season’s young squad, before the free agency period beings end of March.

“We’ll be targeting a number of marquee players once free agency starts, players that we really want to see in the blue and gold,” York said.

“We have some big national talent on our radar, and if COVID-19 eases up we’ll look overseas as well.

“Bendigo is hungry for world-class basketball, and we’re hungry to deliver it for them in 2021-22.”