A MESSAGE FROM COCKBURN BASKETBALL ASSOCIATION PRESIDENT TRAVIS FRENCH.
Dear Cougar Family,
It’s with very mixed emotions we advise that Chief Executive Officer Tyrone Thwaites has decided to close the chapter on his time with Cockburn Basketball Association. Due to the nature of his new role, Tyrone will also be stepping down as our NBL1 women’s head coach.
He has been an integral part of our club, leading us through one of the most successful eras in our history over the past six and a half years.
And while we would love for Ty to continue with the club, he is moving to another role within the basketball community where we know he will continue to have a profound impact in growing and improving the game, the same way he has for our Cougar Family.
We are grateful for Ty’s dedication, leadership, and the immensely positive community impact. And what a chapter it was! With Ty at the helm, our proud association grew from strength to strength.
Some of the highlights included:
- The near tripling of our basketball participation rates (including Australia’s largest Aussie Hoops program!),
- Establishing a solid-financial foundation and new club brand identity,
- Navigating the club through the recent pandemic,
- Re-shaping the association’s governance alongside the board,
- Establishing one of WA’s most successful WABL programs post-COVID, and
- Being a driving force in the development of the new Wally Hagan Stadium – including government relationships and the recently completed business case.
As our women’s NBL1 head coach he was able to lead our program in a progressive and professional manager. The program is now in great cultural shape to continue developing players, coaches, and support staff. Importantly, Ty also achieved what no coach had been able to do for our women’s program in our history: claiming our inaugural championship in 2023 and backing it up with a second grand final appearance in 2024. A feat most coaches aspire to achieve once, let alone twice.
As we move into our next chapter, the Board of Directors has immediately initiated a comprehensive search for two high quality people to fill the roles of Chief Executive Officer and NBL1 Head Coach.
We are committed to ensuring a smooth transition and will keep you updated throughout this process. Ty has kindly offered to see out a period beyond his notice, to ensure this transition is seamless, and will be with us until approximately mid-October. We also appreciate the continued support and patience of our all our staff, volunteers, and community as we work through this transition period.
We wish to once again thank Tyrone for his outstanding service, for which we are extremely grateful, noting his achievements mean he will always be one of the Cougar Family. We will provide an opportunity to thank and farewell Ty in due course.
