Ben Ettridge
Benjamin James "Ben" Ettridge (born 19 November 1983) is an Australian wheelchair basketball coach who is currently the head coach of the SBL's Joondalup Wolves, and the men's national team (the Rollers).
Playing career
Ettridge competed in the State Basketball League between 1993 and 2004,[1] playing for the Cockburn Cougars (1993–1994), Willetton Tigers (1995–1996), Mandurah Magic (1997–1999; 2002–2004) and Perth Redbacks (2001).[2]
Coaching career
National wheelchair basketball teams
Ettridge has served in a variety of men and women's coaching positions for Australia's national wheelchair basketball program. He served as the head coach of the Australian men's Under 23 team, an assistant with the women's national senior team and as head coach of the men's senior team.[3] He became the head coach of the men's senior team in 2007[4] and guided them to gold at the Arafura Games. At the end of the tournament, his record as a coach was nine wins and one loss.[4] In 2011, he worked with Basketball Australia and the Australian Paralympic Committee to secure alternative transportation for his team after they were left stranded because of Qantas's grounding of flights as part of a labour dispute. He and his team were trying to get to South Korea to compete in the Paralympic qualifying tournament.[5]
Paralympics
Ettridge coached the gold medal winning Australia men's national wheelchair basketball team at the 2008 Summer Paralympics.[6]
Other competitions
In 2009, Ettridge was the coach for the national side that competed at the Rollers World Challenge.[7] In 2010, he coached the gold medal winning team that competed at the IWBF World Championships.[8][9] In November 2011, he coached the Rollers at the Paralympic qualifying tournament for the 2012 Summer Paralympics.[10]
National Wheelchair Basketball League
In 2004, Ettridge became the head coach of the National Wheelchair Basketball League's Perth Wheelcats. His father, Len Ettridge, served as the team's assistant coach. In his second year as head coach, he took the team to the NWBL's championship final where they lost to the West Sydney Razorbacks. In 2006, the Wheelcats lost only one game all season before going on to win the league championship. In 2007, he guided the Wheelcats to back-to-back championships. He then coached the Wheelcats to victory at the World Champions Cup, in a tournament where they did not lose a single game. In 2008, he was again the Wheelcats coach and the team lost only one game during the regular season before winning the NWBL's championship once again. In 2010, he left his coaching job with the Wheelcats and was replaced by Lee Nott.[11]
State Basketball League
In 2011, Ettridge became the head coach of the SBL's Wanneroo Wolves and went on to guide them to their first championship win since 1993.[12] He departed the Wolves head coaching position following the 2012 season.[13]
In September 2014, Ettridge was reappointed as the Wolves' head coach for the 2015 season.[14] On 11 May 2015, he was named the North Men's All-Star coach for the 2015 SBL All-Star Game.[15] On 29 August 2015, he guided the Wolves to a 105–75 grand final win over the South West Slammers to reclaim the SBL championship.[16]
Recognition
In 2009, the Australian Paralympic Committee named him as one of their finalists for their Coach of the Year award.[17] While coaching the Wheelcats, he was named the NWBL Coach of the Year three times. He is also a five-time Wheelchair Sports WA Coach of the Year.[3] In November 2014, he was awarded the Australian College of Physical Education Coach of the Year at the New South Wales Institute of Sport awards.[18]
Personal
Ettridge is the son of former Paralympian Len Ettridge.[19][20]
References
- ↑ "Ben Ettridge - Men's SBL Head Coach". WolfpackBasketball.com.au. Archived from the original on 5 February 2014.
- ↑ SKYWEST BASKETBALL LEAGUE: MEN – All time Players
- 1 2 "Ben Ettridge Leaves the Cattery". EastPerth.basketball.net.au. 21 January 2010. Archived from the original on 25 April 2012.
- 1 2 "Team Australia - May 2007". Paralympic.org. Archived from the original on 1 October 2011.
- ↑ Jackson, Glenn (31 October 2011). "Flights chaos leaves sports stars stranded, home and away". Traveller.com.au. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ McGarry, Andrew (4 September 2008). "Event guide: Wheelchair basketball". ABC.net.au. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ "Rollers roll over Japan". DailyTelegraph.com.au. 30 July 2009. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ "FOUR NSW TEAM REPRESENTATIVES NAMED IN ROLLERS TEAM TO PLAY ENGLAND" (PDF). NSWBasketball.net.au. 29 June 2010. Archived from the original (PDF) on 16 February 2011.
- ↑ "Rollers Int History". Basketball.net.au. Archived from the original on 18 September 2010.
- ↑ Gold, David (28 October 2011). "Australia name wheelchair basketball squads for London 2012 qualifying event". Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ "TipOff 2010". SportingPulse.com. 4 June 2010. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ "Season Preview – Wanneroo Wolves". SportingPulse.com. 24 February 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ "Ettridge steps down as Wolves MSBL Head Coach". SportingPulse.com. 5 October 2012. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ "SBL COACHING CHANGES". SportingPulse.com. 25 September 2014. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ "All-Star Coaches Announced". SportingPulse.com. 11 May 2015. Archived from the original on 18 May 2015.
- ↑ Pike, Chris (29 August 2015). "Wolves too good for Slammers to win third men's SBL championship". FoxSportsPulse.com. Retrieved 29 August 2015.
- ↑ "Paralympic Sport Awards 2009". Paralympic.org. Archived from the original on 19 June 2010.
- ↑ "Batt and Fox dominate NSWIS awards". NSWIS.com.au. 21 November 2014. Retrieved 22 November 2014.
- ↑ "Shooters at National Championships Trophy". wheelchairsportswa.org.au. 16 June 2011. Retrieved 11 May 2015.
- ↑ "WHEELCATS". SportingPulse.com. Retrieved 11 May 2015.