THE Albury-Wodonga Bandits have been thrown into turmoil after coach Jim Wilson announced he will not seek re-appointment for next season.
And in a further blow, Lady Bandits coach Allen McCowan has angrily denounced the club’s decision to also invite applications for the women’s head coaching position.
Wilson cited family reasons as the main cause of his departure but refused to rule out returning to the position in the future.
“The main reason is the hours I put in off the court is time away from my wife and three kids,” Wilson said.
“Making time available for them has become very difficult and I’d like to spend more time with them.
“I’m very proud to have given some of our local kids the opportunity to develop in my time with the team.
“I guess the most enjoyment I’ve had is seeing some of these kids and the way they’ve improved and done well — DJ Oates, Nick Payne, Matt de Koeyer, those sort of players.
“I suppose the biggest regret is the win-loss record and the players not getting the rewards for all their hard work.”
Wilson coached the Bandits for four seasons from 2005 but was unable to guide the Border club to the play-offs.
With a line-up decimated by off-season departures, this year’s Bandits squad has won just a solitary game, against Canberra, and has suffered several of the heaviest defeats in the club’s 25-year history.
Responding to the club’s decision to not re-appoint him, a fuming McCowan said it was a slap in the face to all the work he had put in with his players.
“I think this is a complete disgrace,” McCowan said.
“If they continue down this road then I’ve told them not to expect me to apply for the job.
“To put it mildly, this is just wrong.
“I’ve been told and told what a good job I’ve been doing.
“If they re-advertise the position then good luck to them but I don’t want a part of it.
“It just shows they’re not loyal. When I took this job on, no one wanted to coach them. No one.
“Now they’re going to look elsewhere? If they were happy with me then they wouldn’t advertise the job.”
However club delegate Mark de Koeyer denied McCowan had been sacked.
“Allen’s original appointment was a two-year tenure,” he said.
“It was just deemed to be the right thing to see who is out there, be it head position or otherwise.
“This wasn’t decided five minutes ago, the committee made this decision some time ago. He hasn’t been sacked, he had asked to be re-appointed but the committee had already decided to advertise the position.
“We’re seeking expressions of interest for all coaching positions and he will have to re-apply for the job.
“It could be that he is re-appointed but we want to see who else is available out there, the committee thinks he is doing a good job, this is no indictment on his performance.”
Both Bandits teams play their final games of the season against Knox tomorrow night at the Albury Sports Stadium.