Ipswich Basketball Club Senior Women’s Captain, Amy Linton, has announced that she will be stepping away from the club at the end of the 2018/2019 season. Amy will continue to support the club and be around the programme, and will be available to offer her experience to younger players and coaches. However, for the first time in thirteen years, Amy will not hold a formal position within the club, either as a player or as a coach.
Amy has been with Ipswich Basketball Club since she was twelve years old, and enjoyed an excellent career as a junior player before becoming the first female player at our Copleston based academy back in 2010. She continued her playing into senior level when she combined playing WNBL Division Two with taking on a coaching role with the club. During her time as a coach she was again a trail blazer, becoming the first coach to lead an Ipswich girls team to the Final Fours in twenty years in 2017. When the Senior Women’s team was re-launched later that year, Amy stepped away from coaching to concentrate on playing. She was named captain of the women’s team and subsequently led the team to the greatest season in club history, including the league, playoff and national cup treble.
Ipswich Basketball Club Head Coach had this to say about Amy “Amy’s contribution to Ipswich Basketball cannot be understated. From junior player, to academy player, to senior player, to coach. A national finalist as a coach and a national championship winning player and captain – you will do well to find a greater servant to the club and a better advert for what Ipswich Basketball is all about, both on and off the court”.
Ipswich Basketball Club wishes Amy all the best for the future and we hope that she will be back with the club in the not too distant future, either as a player or as a coach.
Head Coach Nick Drane now begins the search to replace Linton “We are going to need a point guard. Amy and Ashleigh shared this job in 17/18 and Amy and Esther shared this job in 18/19. Whether it’s through the academy and the WEABL programme, or a more senior experienced player interested in joining us and playing at a high level, we need someone who is willing and ready to give us quality minutes at the point guard position”.
