‘It was time’ – Thomaidis

Thomaidis also serves as the head coach for the University of Saskatchewan (USask) Huskies women’s basketball team, a post she has held for 23 seasons. She has been coaching both teams during her tenure at USask.

“I was able to do both for quite a while and I knew that I could do a good job of it, but at some point, it gets to the point where it’s just too much. So, it certainly wasn’t easy, but it was time and I’m really proud of what we were able to accomplish with that team,” said Thomaidis.

Thomaidis compiled an 83-44 record with the national team and under her guidance, Canada earned gold medals at the 2015 Pan American Games, 2015 FIBA Americas Women’s Championship and FIBA Women’s AmeriCup in 2017.

Canada also qualified for the 2012 Olympics in London and the 2016 Rio Olympics. Thomaidis and her team faced challenges heading into the Tokyo Olympics this summer as the team couldn’t practice together because of COVID-19 restrictions. They failed to win a medal in Tokyo after being discussed in medal contention leading up to the Games.

When looking back on her career with Team Canada, the memories are plenty for Thomaidis.

“One of the most impactful one was when we qualified for the 2012 Games in London because it was the first time in 12 years that we qualified to get to the Olympics,” she said. “It was the first time that we were on national TV in front of the Canadian audience. That was huge for our program, and it was a turning point for us – it showed the Canadian public what we were about, and they got to know who these players were that played for our national team.”

Lisa Thomaidis enters her 22nd season with the Uask Huskies, after agreeing to part ways with the national women’s team this fall. Photo by Jon Lopez / IG: @jonlopez13

She also highlighted the 2015 Pan Am Games, held in Toronto, as being one of her favourite memories.

“We were on Canadian soil and playing in front of the home crowd for the first time ever. Beating the Americans and winning a gold medal … it was historic. It was the first time that a Canadian basketball team – male or female – had won gold at the Pan Am Games,” she said. “It was monumental for Canadian basketball and Canadian women’s basketball.”

The national program made leaps and bounds under Thomaidis’ direction, being ranked below the top 20 in 2001 when she first joined the team. When she took over as head coach, the team was ranked 11th in the world and over the course of those eight years, Canada is now ranked fourth in FIBA World Rankings.

“I don’t think there are many teams in the world that follow that trajectory of improvement,” said Thomaidis. “I am super proud of that, and it is a reflection on the commitment and dedication of the athletes and the coaching staff to get to that point.”

Now that Thomaidis is back in Saskatoon full time with the Huskies, she is using her experiences to help her players get better on the court.

“Any time you get to see that level up close and personal, you get to bring back those experiences to your current context,” she said. “I think it has been hugely beneficial for me as a coach and for us as a program to be able to rely on some of those experiences and help our players here, helping them achieve their potential and that will in turn, help our team.”

Thomaidis has been named USport coach of the year twice and has led the Huskies to seven Canada West titles and two national titles, including in 2020. The Huskies have reached the USports Final 8 tournament 13 times, including in 12 of the last 13 seasons.

The focus now will be attempting to bring back another championship with the Huskies, but Thomaidis is looking forward to having some downtime this off-season.

“I’m hoping it will give me some time to relax. When you coach, you fill up the time with whatever team you are coaching, so I’m still in an all-consuming occupation of coaching when you know there is always more you can be doing,” she said. “In the off-season, I am looking forward to taking some time away, whether it be travel, chilling, or getting back into some interests that I’ve had to put on the back-burner before I was involved in that national team. I think overall, just finding more balance in my life.”

by Katie Brickman-Young

‘It was time’ – Thomaidis

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