Coach positive on WNBL | Canterbury Sport | Surfing, Rugby, Soccer, Football, Cricket in Canterbury

Newly-appointed Canterbury franchise coach Leigh Gooding is confident his team can punch above its weight in the Australian WNBL.

The 36-year-old Australian, also the Tall Ferns assistant coach, will guide the first South Island team to compete in an Australian pro sports league.

Canterbury will be taking on established giants with much bigger population bases.

"But I sort of relate Christchurch a little bit to the Newcastle and Wollongong-type sides and organisation," he said.

"And over the years they've done pretty well in some of the competitions, whether it's men-women or basketball-football, whatever it might be."

Canterbury could do just as well if the community, people, and sponsors got behind the team, he said.

Although he's primarily coached men's teams, Gooding knows Aussie basketball back to front. He started as Newcastle Basketball's development officer, spent four years as assistant coach to Gordie McLeod at the West Sydney Razorbacks in the men's NBL, and more recently while working in IT has been assistant coach of the Nunawading Spectres in the South East Australian league.

In Christchurch this week before the Ferns left for matches in China, Gooding said Canterbury hoped to sign up experienced Ferns Angela Marino and Donna Wilkins (nee Loffhagen) and also had a couple of import spots to fill. About six players were signed for Canterbury before he was appointed.

"I think those six girls would have been part of the group anyway, if I had had full control when they first started," he said.

"They couldn't sit back and wait for me to get on board - they needed to get started so they didn't lose all their local girls to the Australian teams."

His experience with Aussie basketball has to be valuable for the fledgling team:

"I'm well aware of all the venues, a lot of the coaches, just the time to travel from places in towns and cities, little things (like) where a good place might be to eat, how much time you need getting from one place to the next."

These should obviously help a new team adjust more easily, he said.