LONG-TIME basketball coach Bernie Harrower goes back to where it all began when he paces the Bendigo Stadium sideline on Saturday night as fill-in coach for the Champions IGA Bendigo Lady Braves against Geelong.
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The match is the first of several Harrower will be in charge as Lady Braves' head coach Jonathan Goodman fulfills commitments with the Australian Gems.
"It's exciting," Harrower said of his return to the Bendigo Lady Braves.
"The Lady Braves gave me a start in coaching."
An incredible journey included seven grand finals, five SEABL championships, and two national ABA titles.
Harrower then went on to coach the Bendigo Spirit.
The club won back-to-back Women's National Basketball League titles in 2012-13 and 2013-14 and was runner-up last season.
The focus is now on doing what he can to help the Lady Braves break a three-game losing streak.
"It's not a case of going in and making a lot of changes to the game plan," Harrower said during a break from running Inspirations Paint in Golden Square.
"There will be some subtle changes to the defensive set-up, but the main thing is strong defence."
It's been a trait of every Harrower-coached team.
Harrower and Goodman had spent the past four seasons working together as coach and assistant coach at Bendigo Spirit.
"Jono has his own style of coaching so I don't want to take the players too much away from that. Because we spent a lot of time working together it makes the transition a lot easier."
Harrower said the Lady Braves faced a great challenge against the Geelong Supercats.
Opals commitments mean Kelly Wilson and Tessa Lavey are out of the Bendigo line-up, while the same applies for Geelong star Sara Blicavs.
The match tips off at 6pm.
Meanwhile, the Bendigo Braves are gearing up for the 30th birthday celebrations on June 13.
Bendigo will host arch-rival Ballarat in clashes at noon and 2pm.
A cocktail party will be held from 7pm that night at Bendigo Stadium.
RSVP by this Saturday on 5440 6200.