Kristen Veal re-signs as UC Capitals Head Coach
The UC Capitals are thrilled to announce the re-signing of UC Capitals head coach, Kristen Veal, on a one-year contract.
Across her first two seasons with the programs, Veal has brought in a wealth of experience from her time across the league as both a player and assistant coach, and says she is excited to be coming back for another season.
“We had some good discussions in making the decision and feel really comfortable and excited about coming back and continuing that investment in the players and the vision and building on what we’ve done this year,” she said.
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Current UC Director of Sport and former championship coach, Carrie Graf, was there to make the announcement and said the club is looking forward to where the team goes from here.
“It’s been a challenging first two years for Kristen as a head coach in the WNBL. With the number of injuries we’ve had to had to manage it’s been adversity on adversity.
“We’ve got confidence that with Vealy back in the chair next year, with two years under her belt and with a roster that’s also a little bit more bolstered and hopefully isn’t as injured, that this program can get back into a position where it’s vying for finals year in year out,” Graf said.
The Capitals play their final game of the 2023/24 season this Saturday, 24th February, which is projected to attract a sell-out crowd despite the team sitting eight on the WNBL ladder.
“If you look at the impact the team had, takeaway wins and losses, the fan engagement says something about how the team play, the character of the people, the style of play, the excitement and passion with how they play, and part of that comes through from the head coach.
“In performance sports you have some massive highs and you might maintain that plateau, and then you have other times where you bottom out a little bit and this is a little dip for the Caps program. We’ve seen it before the Caps bottomed, then catapulted back in to some championships, so you can turn things around pretty quickly.
“I think there’s a lot of good things coming through the program over the next few years, and we’re confident that Vealy is a part of that piece going forward and can really make an impact,” Graf said.
With the head coach position now locked in, focus will turn to player signings and building the roster for next season.
“Defensively is still probably where we’re going to look to make inroads. I think we’ve got a really exciting brand of basketball, we’ve got right players that are suited, they’re only going to get better – their ceilings are so high. So, it’s really about how do we add pieces to what we’ve got and grow essentially grow the garden that’s already kind of moving,” Veal said.