New Townsville Crocodiles head coach, Paul Woolpert is thrilled to be taking over the reigns from his good mate, the departing Trevor Gleeson. Brought on board by Gleeson last season as an assistant, Woolpert was in a position to take the top job after Gleeson headed south to the opportunities offered by the Melbourne Tigers in their much-publicised team overhaul.
Woolpert, formerly the coach of the Yakima Sun Kings, was featured in a recent article in the Yakima Herald-Republic.
“I could finish my career there,” the 51-year-old Woolpert said. “This could be a job to retire on.”
All it took to get to this point was some patience and good timing.
Woolpert had been off the sidelines since his one season-stint as head coach of the Tulsa 66ers in the National Basketball Association’s D-League in 2008-09.
Eager to back into coaching, Woolpert was ready to head to the Far East last year when Gleeson intervened, and Woolpert instead went to work in Australia’s top league, the National Basketball League.
“I was going to China and be an assistant for more money, but Trevor called,” Woolpert said, “and I’d rather help a friend and live on the Great Barrier Reef.”
Last season “couldn’t have worked out better,” Woolpert said, and things only got better when he returned to Yakima in April. On his first day stateside, Crocs officials called to say that Gleeson had taken the head coaching job with the Melbourne Tigers and that they wanted to make Woolpert head coach.
Woolpert’s only stipulation was for a significant commitment from the team, which he got in the form of a four-year deal, with the first three seasons guaranteed.
“I don’t want to move to the other side of the planet without some guarantee,” he said, adding that even though there were some other coaching possibilities in the league, he really wanted to go back there.
“Townsville was the perfect opportunity,” he said.
The Crocs were bolstered by off-season news of the return of both big man Luke Schenscher and Australian Boomers squad member Peter Crawford. They now only have to finalise their import positions to prepare for the 2011/12 NBL season.
The remainder of the article on Woolpert is a good read.
[image: Townsville Bulletin]
