June 5, 2024
Locked On Women’s Basketball: Sandy Brondello’s coaching ubiquity
By The Next
Host Howard Megdal chats with New York Liberty and Team Australia head coach Sandy Brondello on how she manages to simultaneously do both
On the latest episode of Locked On Women’s Basketball, host Howard Megdal is joined by Sandy Brondello, head coach of both the New York Liberty and Team Australia. A former WNBA player herself, Brondello has participated in the league for almost its entire existence. She shares her coaching wisdom with Megdal, and they discuss how she’ll navigate simultaneous attempts to help the Liberty and Team Australia reach victories.
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Megdal opens the show by listing Brondello’s accolades as a head coach. He also uses this moment to acknowledge the obvious missing piece — In Brondello’s time as a head coach, her team has not reached the playoffs. “I was extremely proud of what we did achieve,” Brondello responds, reflecting on how close the Liberty came to a playoff berth. “Being that close in year one was amazing. It gave us extra motivation as we head into year two together.”
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Megdal and Brondello then go back in time to the 90s. “You are not an original member of the WNBA,” Megdal reminds listeners. “You joined the league in year two … You’re playing in the World Championships for Australia, you finish up, and immediately fly to Detroit for a team that is beginning.” That team, the Detroit Shock, has now transformed into the Dallas Wings.
“It was an amazing experience,” Brondello reflects. “As a professional basketball player, everyone wants to compete in the every best league … I’m really grateful for the wonderful memories, that I was able to play at the highest level and … really enjoy the experience.”
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Here at The Next, in addition to the 24/7/365 written content our staff provides, we also host the daily Locked On Women’s Basketball podcast. Join us Monday through Saturday each week as we discuss all things WNBA, collegiate basketball, basketball history and much more. Listen wherever you find podcasts or watch on YouTube.
Later on, Megdal and Brondello switch focus to Brondello’s second job, moonlighting as the head coach of the Australian National Team. “How do you do that?” Howard asks. “What is a day in the life looking like for you right now?” Brondello immediately asserts that she has the “best two jobs in the world. To be quite honest, I have great people around me, and they’ve been with me for many years.” As for Team Australia, she’s watching from afar at the moment, but she trusts the people she has on the ground to make good decisions. “It’s a huge passion. It’s a huge privilege to coach two great teams.”
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