Wrobel to lead the Fire
Three-time championship winning assistant Mark Wrobel is poised to lead the JCU Townsville Fire for the next two rounds commencing on Saturday.
With head coach Claudia Brassard on national duties at the Under-18 Asian Championships in India, Wrobel will take the reins in her absence after serving as an understudy since 2014/15.
The JCU Townsville Fire will renew our rivalry against the Sydney Uni Flames from 2pm at Townsville Stadium this Saturday —> https://t.co/7n3ttLhREV #FireUpTownsville 🔥🏀🔥 pic.twitter.com/V2QLEzqIzq
— Townsville Fire (@TownsvilleFire) October 22, 2018
A highly decorated coach in his own right, Wrobel has played a key role in the Fire’s Chemist Warehouse WNBL dynasty and coached the club’s first pre-season game in 2018/19 in preparation of the handover.
In addition to his work with the Fire, Wrobel has served as an assistant for the Australian team at the past two Under-17 World Cups, with the Sapphires winning gold and bronze.
“Mark’s been a key contributor to our program for the past four seasons,” Brassard said.
“He knows our systems inside and out – he’s highly regarded by our playing group – and the transition will be seamless from myself to Mark.
“He’s more than capable of being a WNBL head coach in his own right.”
Having won back-to-back QBL championships and ABA titles with the Townsville Flames, Wrobel joined the Fire’s coaching staff in 2014/15 under Chris Lucas and enjoyed immediate success.
Congratulations to the Fire’s Alexandra Fowler & Mark Wrobel on leading Australia to a bronze medal at the U-17 World Cup against Hungary. Alex finished with 4 points & 5 boards! #GoSapphires 🔥🏀🇦🇺🥉 pic.twitter.com/vaGPVVU7WN
— Townsville Fire (@TownsvilleFire) July 29, 2018
Since then, he has become Brassard’s lead assistant while juggling his own national duties.
“It is exciting to get the opportunity to take the lead for a couple of games and allow Claudia to get the opportunity to coach at the international level,” Wrobel said.
The aim for me is to help the team get a couple of wins on the board in her absence. Claudia and I have coached for many years together so hopefully me being the leading voice won’t be a distraction to the playing group.
“It’s an honour to be able to lead this great club and the team are all locked in to get back into the winners’ circle this weekend in front of our home fans.
The Fire host the Sydney Uni Flames at Townsville Stadium from 2pm on Saturday.
Click here to pre-purchase your tickets to the Fire and the Flames.