Sherr ushers in new era
THE Maccabi Warriors have announced longstanding clubman Daniel Sherr as head coach of the senior men’s team next season.
Choosing Sherr heralds the culmination of a coaching journey that began with Northern Maccabi in Kew more than two decades ago.
Since those early days, Sherr has built up a lengthy resume that boasts two years as Maccabi Basketball Victoria’s director of coaching and four years as the Warriors’ assistant coach from 2004-2008, a period that yielded a title.
It also includes consecutive trips to Israel’s Maccabiah Games at the helm of Australia’s junior boys basketball team, with the 2013 group narrowly missing out on bronze.
“It’s very exiting,” Sherr told the <I>AJN<P> in regards to his head-coaching role.
“In a way it’s a little bit surreal, it’s been an ambition of mine for quite a long time, so to actually be able to take the court [as head coach] is surreal, but really great.”
Sherr’s appointment marks a new era for the Big V Division 2 side, which spent the last three seasons under Andrew Solewicz, who accepted the head-coaching gig at Melbourne University Black Angels in Division 1 for 2015.
“It feels good because I’ve got (Solewicz’s) blessings and I’m coming into a team that already has a tight bond,” Sherr said.
“There’s been some solid amount of groundwork laid already and we’ve got some exciting new additions, despite one big loss.”
He’s referring to the departure of four-time MVP Benji Tamir. Last season’s leader in points, rebounds and steals left Maccabi for the McKinnon Cougars in the State Championship, Victoria’s premier basketball league, a decision that Sherr says he fully understands.
“I for one, and a club, certainly do not begrudge Benji for trying to play at the highest level possible and wish him all the best and good luck,” he said.
“I know he’s a Maccabi person and he’ll come back at some point to play for the club.”
But the arrival of 205 centimetre Canadian import Jared Mintz could go some way to filling the gap left by Tamir.
A seasoned 26-year-old forward who spent four seasons with NCAA Division 1 side Lafayette College, Mintz’s final year saw impressive averages of 16 points and six rebounds.
“In terms of the import, I’m really excited,” Sherr said.
“I feel he’ll be able to make a big impact and not just in our team, but in the league. Hopefully we’ll be able to use his time here as a springboard for bigger and better things in our development.”
In spite of the raft of coaching and player changes, Sherr says that the introduction of a Maccabi team in Big V’s youth league means a bright future for the club.
“We’ve now got that pathway with a youth league team for players who ordinarily would have left [Maccabi] or played Big V somewhere else or even been lost to basketball,” he said.
“Now they’ve got something to aspire towards and that in turn can only benefit our senior team in the long run.”
ADAM BLAU
comments