EXPERIENCED former Great Britain boss Tony Garbelotto has revealed his excitement at joining Worcester Wolves as temporary head coach for next month in the absence of Ty Shaw.
Shaw was taken ill during an away game at the Sheffield Sharks in early January and is still taking some time to recover.
Garbelotto will assume the head coach role for the next four weeks to to support assistant coaches Dean Blake and Felix Hallam as the club prepares for the return of Shaw. The 50-year-old takes the helm as temporary head coach Dean Blake awaits the birth of his child.
The former GB boss has a wealth of experience coaching in the BBL and at international level and began his coaching career as an assistant at his local team London Towers, now London Lions, back in 1992.
His career has since taken him to head coaching positions at BBL Newcastle Eagles, Birmingham Bullets and Everton Tigers.
During his time at the Tigers he coached the team to five pieces of BBL silverware, winning the treble in 2010-11. He has also spent time abroad as head coach of Icelandic side Vestri, German Pro A team MLP Academics Heidelberg and ASEAN Basketball League Saigon Heat.
At international level he has coached Vietnam, Great Britain and Scotland. His most recent position was juggling his positions at both Great Britain and Scotland with the head coach role at Glasgow Rocks, before stepping down for personal reasons.
On standing in at Wolves, Garbelotto said, “I am excited about joining the Worcester organisation on a temporary basis. Although the club has struggled with results this season, there is a huge amount of talent and high level players on the roster and I hope I can help them to continue to work towards achieving their potential.”
Managing director Mick Donovan said: “We continue to make adaptions to deal with the challenges that we face this season and clearly, we are both excited and supportive for Dean at this important time for him and his family. Sport is important, but family must come first.”
“Tony has a proven track record at all levels as an excellent coach and his appointment sends out a clear message that we are still fighting to win every game that we can and repay the support of our passionate fan base.”
Garbelotto’s was courtside for last night’s clash with Newcastle Eagles before hitting the road with his new charges for tomorrow’s (Sunday) trip to the Manchester Giants.