On Thursday 8 October, Australian Opals and Canberra Capitals basketball coach Carrie Graf spoke about her role and experiences of supporting player development, at a special ‘Thanks Coach and Official’ event held during Floriade, Canberra’s spring festival.

Delivered by the Australian Sports Commission, ‘Thanks Coach and Official’ provided an opportunity to recognise the valuable contribution of coaches and officials in developing sport.

Canberra Capitals and Opals basketball player Marianna Tolo paid tribute to Graf, describing her as a highly motivating and inspiring coach.

‘I have improved so much since working with Graffy in both the Capitals and the Opals. I look forward to working on improving my game and skills with her throughout my career,’ Tolo said.

A highly respected coach in Australia and around the world, Graf delivered an inspiring and entertaining speech about the key themes she uses in guiding her players to reach their potential. One key theme, relating to handling adversity, assisted Canberra Capital Tracey Beatty to deal with challenges both on and off the court.

Graf recruited Beatty to the Capitals from Adelaide Lightning in 2005, when she was only getting about five minutes court time during each Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) game. Graf helped her develop into a valuable member of a championship-winning team and a more confident person.

When a personal crisis struck, just three weeks before the 2006–07 WNBL grand final, Graf advised Beatty to take as much time as she needed. Beatty reflected on the lessons she had learnt from Graf in handling adversity and decided to continue. She went on to lead the Capitals to victory and was named Most Valuable Player.

A highlight of the ‘Thanks Coach and Official’ event for local coaches and officials was a question and answer panel, in which Graf stated her belief that coaches play a major role in developing a culture of respect towards officials.

‘I encourage all my players to respect the referees and accept their decisions,’ Graf said. ‘It is the coach’s role to develop a good working relationship with the referees.’

The ‘Thanks Coach and Official’ question and answer panel included:

• Tom Sermanni: coach of the Matildas Australian women’s football (soccer) team
• Sarah Corrigan: first female official to officiate an international men’s rugby match
• Travis Haslam: referee of the 2006–07 and 2007–08 WNBL grand finals.
• ACT Official of the Year Ben Williams
• FIFA-level referee Ben Wilson.