Ben Ettridge always intended to come back to coach the Perth Wheelcats at some point after a previous run of leading them to four straight NWBL championships with the timing right in 2024 and now he wants to build on what they started again in 2025.
Ettridge grew up with a natural passion to be involved with wheelchair basketball with his late father, Len, representing the Australian Rollers at the 1980 Paralympics as part of an impressive playing career and then moving into coaching himself.
Then after Ben finished his 216-game playing career in the SBL across the Cockburn Cougars, Willetton Tigers, Perth Redbacks and Mandurah Magic, he moved into coaching as well.
It started with the Wheelcats where he led them to four straight NWBL championships between 2006-2009, and five consecutive appearances in the gold medal match.
He also took the Rollers to gold at both the 2010 and 2014 World Cups, and also the 2008 Paralympics before a silver medal in 2012, but then his focus turned to the SBL.
He had already coached the Joondalup Wolves (then Wanneroo) to a championship in 2011, took them to another in 2015 as part of a remarkably consistent run of five straight grand finals.
However, for a whole host of reasons the timing was right in 2024 to return as Perth Wheelcats coach. He helped them to a bronze medal finish in the NWBL before now being back on board with a greater preparation time ahead of the 2025 season.
Getting back involved
When Ettridge initially did step aside as coach of the Wheelcats in 2010 to focus his attention on the World Cup with the Rollers and then coaching the Wolves in the SBL, he always intended to come back to the Wheelcats.
It might have taken a little longer than he anticipated, but everything fell in place nicely to return in 2024. And as a four-time championship winner and having compiled a 118-11 record and being named Coach of the Year three times, it was a boost for the Wheelcats in turn.
Having been part of such great success previously, Ettridge wants nothing more than to restore that successful and winning culture to the Wheelcats.
“It was always my intent to get back involved and it’s a bit like how I first got into wheelchair basketball,” Ettridge said.
“My intent was to coach wheelchair basketball for a year and then move back into able bodied basketball, and then to sit out for two years and move back in.
“Things then happen and your family starts to grow up and you don’t have that time to put into it, but now was a good time for me to come back. It was just a conversation over a coffee with Brad Ness and just asking him if he felt I could contribute to what he was doing as a new head coach.
“He was a big supporter of it and he thought I could help and he suggested coaching the Wheelcats. I was keen on that straightaway and have loved every minute of it. Michelle Fletcher at BWA has been amazing, all of the support we’ve got from there is where it should be with us front and centre.
“We’re playing on a great showcourt there at Bendat and we want to build another legacy. We’ve got eight championships and we’d love to get another one for the women and the men, and keep building on that great tradition that we’ve got here in WA with wheelchair basketball.”
Reflecting on last year
Looking back on last year with his first season back in charge at the Wheelcats, Ettridge was proud of his players for their bronze medal winning performance given their limited preparation together which gives them plenty to build on in 2025.
“I thought it was great. It was my first year back into the fold and it was pretty much a new team with Jake Cavanagh and Shaun Norris really the only remaining players from when I was there eight or so years ago,” Ettridge said.
“They played really well and I think when we set our sights it was to make the top four to play finals, which we did.
“Then to get a win against Manly in the first semi and then just fall short with Wollongong, the boys were happy with where we finished with all the trials and tribulations throughout the season. We grew a lot together as a group and it’s really set us up for some success again this year.”
Squad available for 2025
Now with the season for the Wheelcats men to start this weekend on the road to the Southern Districts Titans, Ettridge couldn’t be happier with the squad they have put together and is especially proud that it is all built around West Australian talent.
“We are 100 per cent happy with our group and 10 of our 11 players are WA born and bred,” Ettridge said.
“The one boy that’s not is Cooper Spillane from South Australia who has played all his junior basketball with WA anyway just due to the numbers and coming across. So to have a wholly homegrown team is something we’re proud of and hang our hats on.
“It’s just another opportunity for us to grow as a group. We’ve got five juniors this year and two of them will be having their first NWBL season, and two of the boys are away at the moment with the Australian Spinners at the World Cup so the future’s really bright for us.
“We’re really excited for what we can do and hopefully make some noise again in August.”
Preparing for short, sharp season
The preparation is always challenging for any NWBL season just given the other commitments of the players and that includes this year with the Australian Spinners under-23 taking part over the past week in the World Championship in Brazil.
That team featured Cooper Spillane and Jordan Mouritz from the Wheelcats, but overall Ettridge is much happier with the preparation for this upcoming NWBL season and with how things are shaping up ahead of the opening weekend on the road.
“Last year I was appointed days before the season so we were very much learning on the go and each week we’d spend some time setting up our culture, and not so much rushing through, but basing it on how we performed on the weekend,” Ettridge said.
“This week I’ve had an eight week pre-season instead which has been good so we’ve been able to work our way through things, set our standards and really build our culture.
“The five guys back from last year have brought those things along and the five younger boys have really lapped it up, and are thriving in what we’re doing.
“I’m very lucky that the majority of the group are also training at WAIS five days a week so all their conditioning, and skill work is done in those sessions. Then when we come together I can focus solely on the team and putting in our schemes and strategies.
“The boys have been great at understanding that when we come together, we’re Wheelcats and that’s our focus and that’s helped us keep focused on what we’re trying to build, and the biggest thing for me has been drawing the guys together from WAIS, the Rollers and the Spinners, and pulling them together as Wheelcats players.”
Adding the 3×3 competition
The other new addition to the 2025 season that has Ettridge excited is that to coincide with the usual NWBL games, there has been the addition of the 3×3 games to go along with it.
Both because it gives players that don’t always get a lot of regular game time the chance to play more and work on their craft, and for that added incentive to do well given it counts in the regular season.
“I was so glad the 3×3 games were included for this season. That was a conversation that I had with Lorraine Landon and Koen Jansens at the finals weekend about how the Rapid League worked in New Zealand,” Ettridge said.
“I said that we had to come up with a way to increase the time our developing players get on the court. Yes, we play three games on the weekend, but there’s players that might play less than 10 minutes across the 120.
“So in the 10 minutes before the warm up, they play their 3×3 game and then join the warm up for our game, and then join the rest of the team.
“So the difference is they can all now play 20, 25 minutes at least of meaningful basketball across a weekend so they get more reward for all the time and effort they are putting in.
“Those 3×3 results then do influence the ladder as well so we take it seriously and spend the time at the start of each practice working on things in the 3×3 games so they can go out there contribute to our season.”
𝘈𝘳𝘵𝘪𝘤𝘭𝘦: 𝘊𝘩𝘳𝘪𝘴 𝘗𝘪𝘬𝘦
Don’t miss this weekend!
Wheelcats MEN
🆚 Southern Districts Titans
🗓️ Saturday 28 June / 10:00AM & 5:00PM
Wheelcats MEN
🆚 Southern Districts Titans
🗓️ Sunday 29 June / 9:00AM
Wheelcats MEN 3×3
🆚 Southern Districts Titans
🗓️ Saturday 28 June / 9:00AM & 4:00PM