Canberra Capitals coach Carrie Graf said she would have walked away from WNBL coaching this year irrespective of results, with her decision to end 15 years in the job driven by a desire to spend more time with her two children.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
or signup to continue reading
Almost 20 years after guiding Canberra to its first championship, Graf announced on Thursday that she will quit at the end of the season when her contract expires.
The Capitals have fallen to 20 consecutive losses this season and failed to make the finals for the past four years, but Graf ends her tenure with a legacy of six championships and the most wins of any coach in WNBL history.
Graf replaced tears with jokes as she declared it was time for a change at the Capitals after 25 years as a coach and turning Canberra into the most successful club in the WNBL.
The Capitals will start searching for a successor while Graf finishes the last four games of her final season.
The Capitals have fallen from their perch this year, languishing at the bottom of the ladder and in danger of failing to win a game this year.
However, Graf, who led the Australian Opals to an Olympic Games bronze medal in 2012, said missing out on the development of her twins, Charli and Bentley, convinced her it was the right time to walk away.
"My life has been weekend full of basketball, late nights and early mornings of basketball. With kids, that starts to have an impact," Graf said.
"I have a weekend away, I come home and they've got a new word. Those are the big factors for me.
"It would have been a great fairytale for us to be in the finals with a shot at another championship and for me to say goodbye. But that wasn't to be. It was nice to get that donut off our win column.
"I've had a great ride with the Caps. You go through different things that impact your passion and energy level. I'm just your typical worker. This is just a change, kids are partly the reason because I want to spend time with them."
Capitals players were told on Thursday morning that Graf was winding up a 20-year relationship with the club.
She combined with Lauren Jackson to lead Canberra to their first title in 1999-2000, and has been the coach for six of the Capitals' seven championship wins.
Almost 20 years after the breakthrough win, Jackson and Graf will farewell Canberra in the same season in a changing of the guard.
Graf rated Jackson's landmark $1 million third-party deal, the championships, the Capitals' stance for LGBTI equality and inclusiveness and working with players who have children as her career highlights.
"Impressive young women have driven me to do great things," Graf said.
"When [we were deciding on my career], Charli wouldn't sleep in her princess bed and got so upset that she spewed on the floor.
"When you're going through a career-changing moment, there's a two-year-old that keeps it real. Those changes are positive, they put your career and working life in perspective.
"For me, basketball coaching is a job. It's been a passion, but it's a job and it has to be put in perspective.
"For me I need a break, and I think the program needs a break from me. It's the right time to do that. Regardless of whether this was a winning season or not, this was in my thinking."
Graf has been an icon for women's sport in the capital, promoting different codes and leading the charge to make female athletes professional.
Capitals officials have almost finished a wide-ranging review into the basketball operations with the results to be made public in the coming weeks.
Capitals general manager Joe Roff and Graf have left the door open for Graf to return in a different role in the future. Roff said: "Canberra has been incredibly lucky [to have Graf], she's been an incredibly engaged member of our community."
