Mel Downer: Setting standards and polishing future Opals

• Mel Downer was appointed as permanent head coach of Centre of Excellence women's program until 2028
• She was a former interim coach led team to Grand Final against Manly-Warringah in 2025 season
• Downer will prepare the talented squad for NBL1 East campaign starting March

There's perhaps no more important role in Australian women's basketball than the one Mel Downer has.

The lifelong basketball fanatic and coach was appointed as the head coach of the Basketball Australia Centre of Excellence women's program until 2028 last month after serving as interim coach for majority of last year.

And with the future of Australian women's basketball arguably brighter than ever, with prospects such as Sitaya Fagan coming through as well as the Opals being an international powerhouse and the country's junior teams, such as the 2025 Aussie Gems making their mark - Downer will play an integral role in the continued development of our young stars to carry the torch forward.

While it sounds like a lot of pressure, Downer's decades of experience holds her in good stead for such a role, on top of drawing inspiration from her husband - a professional basketball coach himself in Mick Downer, who is in the lead chair of the Akita Northern Happinets in Japan.

"I’ve been incredibly lucky to work with and learn from many amazing coaches and taken a lot from different people over the years. The many experiences and roles I’ve been lucky to have as well  - both the good and the challenging - have also shaped who I am today and how I coach," Downer told basketball.com.au.

"I’ve also been fortunate to see first hand pro leagues and international competition which we’re preparing these athletes for.

"The biggest and most consistent inspiration though would be my husband Mick. Also being a pro basketball coach, I admire his resilience, work ethic, intelligence and integrity.

Through all the ups and downs he has been able to remain true to who he is and what he believes in all while also supporting me and my career aspirations and being a dad to our daughter Evie.

"Stylistically, we’re quite different in how we approach the game but at the end of the day, we both coach for the same reasons which is because we love helping people and using basketball to do that."

Having already been a part of the CoE both as an assistant and interim head coach, Downer said it was a dream come true to take over the role full time.

"I’ve been so lucky to experience working at the CoE twice now when most people only dream of getting to work here. I’m so incredibly grateful for Basketball Australia's faith in me to take on this role given its importance in the pathway and to the success of the Opals," She said.

"It’s a huge responsibility and challenge but more importantly a wonderful opportunity to positively impact young women at a critical point in their developmental journey.

"The future of basketball in Australia is incredibly bright with so much talent and potential coming through. Athletes like Sitaya Fagan have a real chance to make an Opals squad very early in her career.

"Recent success on the world stage with gold at the U17 Oceania Cup, U16 Asia Cup gold and silver at the U19 World Cup speak to our depth or talent and capacity to compete with the best basketball nations in the world and cement ourselves as powerhouses."

Downer helped lead the CoE to a grand final appearance in the NBL1 East last season and outlined her priorities and goals for the future of the program.

"I’m in a unique position where I’m not new to role, I’ve been operating in an interim capacity for a little while so I already know the organisation and have established relationships with staff and athletes which makes the transition into the head coach role a lot easier," she said.

"So the priorities right now are establishing where each athlete is at and what their individual needs are through various screenings and testing and then working with the Performance Services staff to outline a bespoke program for each athlete.

"This first block is all about setting the standard - reestablishing high performance athlete behaviours, expectations and habits while improving foundational skills, targeting individual needs and safely increasing overall load tolerance and robustness.

"My goals are to empower these young women to be the absolute best that they can be by instilling them with the confidence, resilience and the tools they need to succeed.

"I hope to help these young athletes recognise that they are capable of doing more, that they can do really hard things and that they have the confidence in themselves, their ability and in the work that they’ve put in on the floor, in the gym and in the classroom."

Downer, who has been in high performance roles at Basketball Queensland as well as in South Australia and in New Zealand, follows in the footsteps of former CoE women's head coaches, including David Herbert and WNBL legend Kristen Veal.