Championship would mean world for Ellis and Senators

THERE is still plenty that needs to go right and a top four spot to be fought over before it can be even thought about, but Stirling Senators coach Mike Ellis can't help but wonder what a championship would mean as he grows accustomed to life as a head coach again.

The lure of coaching his son Cody in the SBL and seeing in the new Warwick Stadium helped Ellis take on the role in charge of the Senators Men on the back of the retirement of Dave Lindstrom, but there was a lot of work to be done just to make Stirling a playoff contending team.

The Senators have missed the playoffs six times in the past eight seasons including last year and despite the loss of Jordan Wild and Josh Throns from last year's team, Ellis did appear to assemble a stronger looking squad coming into 2016.

Senators surge to top two threat 
Men's SBL Player Column – Cody Ellis 

Both Cody Ellis and Kyle Lindbergh returned with Perth Wildcats championship winning point guard Corban Wroe along with veteran AJ Majstrovich signing on with Austin Bruton, Ashley Litterick, Tom Witts and Jayden Coburn among those back again providing a blend of youth and experience.

However, having a good squad guarantees nothing but the Senators went on a five-game winning run early in the season and then another six-game streak up until losing the last two matches to the East Perth Eagles and Cockburn Cougars.

That leaves Stirling in fifth position at 15-8 to be just one loss out of third spot but also the same distance out of seventh heading into this Friday's crucial clash with the sixth placed Rockingham Flames at Warwick Stadium.

The best basketball from the Senators this season has shown they can match the best in the league including wins over the defending champion Wolves and league-leading Cougars.

While he isn’t taking anything for granted, Ellis isn’t afraid to dream of what a first ever Men's SBL championship would mean for Stirling, but he realises it wouldn’t be possible without the work put in to keep the club afloat by a lot of people and to help make the new Warwick Stadium a reality.

"There hasn’t been one here for a long, long time. A championship would be the ultimate and that's what everyone is going for, but to bring one to Stirling with this group would be just awesome. It would mean the world to the club because the club has gone through a resurgence," Ellis said.

"If you just look at the stadium compared to what we used to have and the alliance we worked out with the Churches of Christ that has come to fruition because of that has taken a lot of work and tireless energy.

"I was on the committee with a number of other guys for a long time and we struggled badly. We were all trying to do it part-time but to get these guys on board, I want to have some success as much for the club for those guys as well and the players.

"It would be a dream come true but we certainly aren’t looking too far ahead towards that. It would be wonderful if we could do something like that though."

Having served on the board for Stirling in recent years and seeing his brother Glenn coach the Women's team up until 2016, Mike thought it was time to put his hand up to coach the Senators particularly while Cody was playing.

Now that he is back into it, he realised that he actually missed it and he is enjoying it despite the amount of work involved.

"It's a lot of work I have to say. I said I would do it and then I wondered immediately what I was thinking. But it's good fun and it's great to be back out there. I'm a lousy spectator and watching last season I was just getting really mad on the sideline," he said.

"I thought that if I was going to get that into it, I should put my money where my mouth is and do something about it.

"I thought I would give it a shot after Dave did a great job with the guys that he had, but it was time for him to move on back to the States to retire. I decided I would step up and take the job, and I'm actually really enjoying it."

The opportunity to coach his son was a major factor in Mike accepting the coaching role and he considered that while he was there yelling at him from the stands anyway, he might as well do it as his coach.

"It's great coaching him because now instead of yelling from the sideline I can do it as his coach. It is always difficult coaching your son because you either favour the hell out of them, or you are really hard on them," Ellis said.

"I'm the latter and I'm actually really hard on him because I expect so much of him so I get on him. But again he is still pretty young and is still learning. It's a great opportunity to coach your son.

"It's something that my father had the opportunity to do with me for one season and that was great playing for my dad. I'm hoping that Cody is enjoying it as well while I'm not yelling at him too much. It's great fun."

Article by Chris Pike
Photo by Deprimo Photography




Comments

Comment Guidelines: The SportsTG Network is made up of players, families and passionate sports followers like you who have a strong opinion about sport. That's great - we want you to have your say and share your thoughts with the world. However, we have a few rules that you must follow to keep it fun for all. Please don't be rude, abusive, swear or vilify others. Apart from some pretty serious sport sanctions, we also can ban you and report you if things get out of hand. So play fair and have fun, and thanks for your contribution.

Turn your favourite sports memories into

A FREE NFT!

Use code: GAMEDAY

GameDay Splash Screen