Dean Vickerman

The Great Coaches: Leadership & Life

Our Great Coach on this show is Dean Vickerman.

Dean is an Australian professional basketball coach and former player, who is currently the head coach of Melbourne United in the Australian National Basketball League.

He started his coaching career in 1997, progressing through roles across Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Between 2007 and 2012, he served as an assistant coach for the New Zealand Breakers helping them win 3 championships in a row. In 2013, he became head coach of the New Zealand Breakers. And in the 2014–15 season, he guided the Breakers to their fourth NBL Championship in five years.

In March 2017, Dean was appointed head coach of Melbourne United and a year later they won the NBL Championship. And in 2018 and again in 2019 he was voted NBL Coach of the Year.

Dean was wonderful to talk and very generous with his time. The highlights of our discussion are:

• his description of their team trademarks and why it’s important that they try to make someone else in the team better.
• How he trusts and works with his assistants, and he shares a great story from their championship game when there is 1.7 seconds left on the clock to illustrate this;
• and the way he uses Blue zone thinking to remain calm.

If you would like to send us any feedback or if you know a great coach, who has a unique story to share, then we would love to hear from you, please contact us at [e-mail] or contact us through our website thegreatcoachespodcast.com

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