First woman coach breaks barriers in Brazil basketball / Photo: Thiago GADELHA - AFP
-
Brazil chooses between Lula and Bolsonaro in nail-biter vote
-
Inter rally late to down Fiorentina and regain Serie A lead
-
Kuwait public works minister and UK ambassador discuss closer cooperation
-
Insurance deductibles and no-claim bonuses require a careful claims decision
-
Doha opens ninth World Investment Forum focused on future investment
-
UDST opens Fall 2027 admissions to students in Qatar and abroad
-
Le Pen begins presidential campaign after violent protests across France
-
Historic Ramallah olive press joins modern production with local tradition
-
Adan Hospital launches catheter-based tricuspid valve replacement programme
-
Hebron operation forces 373 Palestinian families from their homes
-
KIB Group nine-month profit rises 30% to KD 26.6 million
-
Kuwait legal department reviews new commercial concealment law
-
John Catlin wins Hong Kong Open and secures first Masters invitation
-
Ladakh declared India’s first fully organic union territory
-
Poland’s WB Group plans $100 million India investment for drone production
-
IRDAI gives stakeholders until October 31 to comment on distribution reforms
-
Pinheiro Braathen wins Soelden giant slalom
-
Serbia on track for high turnout as students challenge ruling party
-
Man Utd's Fernandes dropped by Carrick after Como outburst
-
Pakistan keep England to 241 despite Duckett ton
-
England great Anderson's future unclear after Lancashire exit
-
Ukraine war divides Bulgaria as voters elect president
-
Demonstrators wounded as Portugal police clear housing protest camps
-
Shock and grief in a Jordanian village after church attack
-
Serbia votes as ruling party faces ascendant student movement
-
Top-ranked Rybakina crushes Fernandez to win fourth title of season
-
Police made 1,314 arrests in France's protests: government
-
UK PM calls for 'honest discussion' about EU free movement
-
Catlin to make Masters debut after cruising to Hong Kong win
-
Far-right leader Le Pen kicks off tilt at French presidency amid nationwide protests
-
Katsuragawa hails 'greatest moment' with South Korea win
-
Naomi Osaka could quit tennis if daughter asks her to
-
Japan's Yoshida wins first LPGA Tour title with South Korea win
-
Last MotoGP race at Phillip Island cancelled due to weather in Marquez setback
-
Comeback kings Brewers down Rays to take 2-0 World Series lead
-
Sri Lanka seeks faster green energy shift after oil shocks
-
Sri Lankan turbine project fuels anger as fish hauls plunge
-
Riyadh airport resumes flights following Houthi attacks
-
No LeBron, no problem as Sixers roll on
-
'Call of Duty' North Korea invasion edition tops sales charts in South
-
Israel to close all land crossings with West Bank on election day
-
Musk accuses Ukraine of violating Starlink's terms of service
-
'Tech debt coming due': AI-found flaw signals chaos ahead
-
Fed expected to hold rates steady days ahead of US midterms
-
Stop-motion 'Wildwood' showcases 'human creativity' in AI age
-
More Lula, or back to the Bolsonaros? Brazil votes in cliffhanger
-
Expo Contratista Announces 10th Edition in Dallas, Spotlighting Latino Construction Businesses and Workforce Development
-
7 Creative Things to Do With Your Backyard
-
Easy Fitness Routines You Can Do at Home
-
HKA Enterprises is Powering the Skilled Trades That Are Moving the U.S. Economy Forward
First woman coach breaks barriers in Brazil basketball
Serbian-Australian basketball coach Jelena Todorovic wants to be more than just the first woman coaching a male team in Brazil, as she works on reversing the fortunes of players who finished bottom of the table last season.
The 31-year-old, newly in charge of the Fortaleza squad in northeastern Brazil, is prepping hard for the country's elite men's basketball championship which starts in October.
It is no easy task: the club was dead last in 2024.
"I don't want to be just the first woman. I want to be someone who left a mark," Todorovic told AFP.
"I want to be someone who made this team better, who made my players better, and I want my results to speak for themselves."
Todorovic -- who arrived in Brazil in August -- played for Red Star Belgrade, a leading club back home, before becoming a coach at age 20.
She worked on the club level in Australia before joining the coaching staff of men's national teams in Serbia, Spain and Greece -- where she coached star Giannis Antetokounmpo, who has since become a two-time winner of the Most Valuable Player award in the US National Basketball Association.
It is the NBA which most inspires Todorovic, notably former player Becky Hammon, the first woman assistant coach in the league.
In December 2020, Hammon became the first and only female head coach in the NBA for a single regular season game, when San Antonio Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich was sent off during a game against the Los Angeles Lakers.
"Becky Hammon was one of the first, biggest, inspirations for me because as a little girl, I didn't have many people to look up to, someone that looked like me," said Todorovic.
"So, having her there as a trailblazer... was super inspiring, and it gave me the extra motivation to follow my dreams."
In the country where football is king, she wants to ignite a passion for basketball, which she describes as a "religion" in Serbia.
"I didn't doubt for a second coming to Brazil. I accepted it straight away because I really enjoy the new challenges, like coming to a new culture, a new basketball atmosphere."
She said her dream is to create such a new basketball fervor in Fortaleza.
And if, along the way, "I've inspired one girl to take my path, my job is done."
Brazil has one of the strongest basketball traditions in South America, and the top men's league, the Novo Basquete Brasil (NBB) increasingly attracts foreign players and coaches.
E.Flores--AT
