Ryan Petrik (born 4 March 1981) is an Australian basketball coach who currently serves as head coach of the

Perth Lynx The Perth Lynx are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Bendat Basketball Centre. For sponsorship reasons, t ...

of the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is the pre-eminent professional women's basketball league in Australia. It is currently composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the women's counterpart to the National Baske ...

(WNBL). He started his coaching career as an assistant coach with the

Rockingham Flames Rockingham Flames is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of the Rockingham Basketball and Recreation Association (RBRA), the major administrat ...

Men's SBL team before being elevated to the head coaching role of the Flames Women's SBL team, where over 10 seasons he guided them to three grand finals and two

championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this system ...

while earning WSBL Coach of the Year honours. Between 2015 and 2020, he served as an assistant coach with the Lynx, and between 2019 and 2022, he served as head coach of the Flames men's team. In 2022, he was named the WNBL Coach of the Year and guided the Flames men to the NBL1 West championship and NBL1 National championship.

Coaching career

Rockingham Flames

In December 2008, Petrik was appointed head coach of the

Women's SBL team for the 2009 season after spending the previous four years as an assistant coach with the Men's SBL team. As a rookie, he led the team to one of their best ever performances with a third-place finish and a 15–7 record with no imports and just one national league player. He subsequently re-signed with the Flames, and in

2010 File:2010 Events Collage New.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2010 Chile earthquake was one of the strongest recorded in history; The Eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland disrupts air travel in Europe; A scene from the opening ceremony of ...

, the team had their best ever regular season as they finished in second place with a 16–6 record. After back-to-back quarter-final losses as the higher seed, the Flames went on to have their worst ever season in

2011 File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...

as they finished last with a 2–20 record. In

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

, Petrik guided the Flames back into the finals with a fourth-place finish and a 15–7 record. They went on to win through to the WSBL Grand Final to become the first Rockingham team (men or women) to reach a grand final. In the championship decider, the Flames were outclassed by the

South West Slammers South West Slammers is an NBL1 West club based in Bunbury, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The Slammers play their home games at Eaton Recreation Centre and represent Western Australia's South W ...

, losing 85–48. For the season, Petrik was named the WSBL Coach of the Year. In

2013 File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...

, he guided the Flames to a semi-final appearance behind a second-place 16–6 regular season. In

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

, the Flames collected the club's first ever minor premiership with a first-place finish and a 20–2 record. They went on to reach the WSBL Grand Final after going undefeated over the first two rounds of the finals. In the championship decider, Petrik's one-two punch of

Sami Whitcomb Samantha Allison Whitcomb (born July 20, 1988) is an American-Australian professional basketball player for the Perth Lynx of the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and the New York Liberty of the Women's National Basketball Association (W ...

and

Darcee Garbin Darcee Garbin (born 24 June 1994) is an Australian professional basketball player for the Goldfields Giants of the NBL1 West. Early life and family Garbin is originally from Western Australia. Born in Kalgoorlie, she was raised in Kambalda bef ...

saw them beat the

Lakeside Lightning Lakeside Lightning is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is owned and managed by Lakeside Baptist Church. The Lightning play their home games at Lakeside R ...

80–75 to claim their maiden WSBL championship. In

2015 File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...

, the Flames finished as minor premiers for the second straight year, once again with a 20–2 record. They made their way through to their third WSBL Grand Final in four years after going undefeated over the first two rounds of the finals. Behind a 41-point effort from Whitcomb, the Flames claimed back-to-back titles with a 68–63 win over the

Willetton Tigers Willetton Tigers is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Willetton Basketball Association (WBA), the major administrative basketball organi ...

. In

2016 File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...

, Petrik guided the Flames to a semi-final appearance behind a second-place 18–4 regular season. This was followed by a 2017 season that saw the Flames miss the finals with an 11th-place finish and a 6–16 record. Petrik's final season in charge of the Flames' women's team came in

2018 File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...

, as they finished third with a 16–6 record before losing in the quarter-finals. In October 2018, Petrik was appointed head coach of the Flames Men's SBL team for the 2019 season. In his first season with the men's team, he led them to a fourth-place 18–8 regular season and a quarter-final appearance. He returned as men's coach in 2020 for the West Coast Classic. In November 2020, Petrik signed a three-year deal with the Flames to remain as men's head coach until the end of 2023. In the

2021 NBL1 West season The 2021 NBL1 West season was the inaugural season of the NBL1 West. After 32 years known as the State Basketball League (SBL), the league was rebranded under the NBL1 banner for 2021. The regular season began on Friday 16 April and ended on Satu ...

, he guided the Flames men to their first ever grand final, where they lost 92–82 to the

Perry Lakes Hawks Perry Lakes Hawks is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Perry Lakes Basketball Association (PLBA), the major administrative basketball org ...

. In

2022 File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...

, Petrik guided the Flames men to their second straight grand final appearance, and the team's first ever championship, defeating the

Geraldton Buccaneers The Geraldton Buccaneers, also known as the Buccs, are an Australian basketball team based in Geraldton, Western Australia. The Buccaneers compete in the Men's NBL1 West and play their home games at Activewest Stadium. The team is affiliated with ...

91–79. At the NBL1 National Finals, the team was crowned

national champions National champions are corporations which are technically private businesses but due to governmental policy are ceded a dominant position in a national economy. In this system, these large organizations are expected not only to seek profit but als ...

with an 85–74 win over the

Frankston Blues Frankston Blues is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Frankston & District Basketball Association (FDBA), the major administrative basketball organisa ...

in the championship game. Petrik returned to the Flames for the

2023 NBL1 West season The 2023 NBL1 West season was the third season of the NBL1 West and 34th overall in State Basketball League (SBL) / NBL1 West history. The regular season began on Friday 31 March and ended on Saturday 22 July. The finals began on Friday 28 July a ...

Perth Lynx

In June 2015, Petrik was appointed an assistant coach to the

of the

(WNBL). In June 2020, after five seasons as an assistant under Andy Stewart, Petrik was appointed head coach of the Lynx on a two-year deal. His debut season as coach was in the WNBL's Hub season in Queensland due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

. The Lynx finished the season in seventh place with a 4–9 record. In the 2021–22 season, Petrik was named the WNBL Coach of the Year after guiding the Lynx to second place with an 11–5 record. They went on to reach the WNBL Grand Final. On 30 May 2022, Petrik re-signed as coach of the Lynx on a multi-year contract.

Personal life

Petrik's father was president of Rockingham Basketball during the 1990s. In 2019, Petrik married Women's SBL player Chelsea Armstrong. The couple had their first child in April 2021.

References

External links

Old Rockingham Flames coaching profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrik, Ryan 1981 births Living people Australian men's basketball coaches Australian women's basketball coaches Perth Lynx coaches