After multiple seasons captaining teams in the NBL1 West (and formerly SBL), Tia Ucich will take on a new challenge, becoming the first female CEO of a WA basketball association.
With many years of experience in the media industry, Ucich is excited to take on a more forward-facing leadership role in the sport that has given her everything.
With the departure of club legend, former CEO and championship-winning women’s coach Tyrone Thwaites, Ucich has big shoes to fill for the Cockburn Cougars.
She explained battling against the Cougars over the past few seasons gave her another level of respect for their program.
“I've watched it unfold over the last few years, and Tyrone and I have had this discussion on where it was six years ago to where it is now,” she told NBL Media.
“And even if I solely look at the women's program, although it wasn’t as desirable to play for six years ago. It’s [now] absolutely, in my opinion, one of the most desirable clubs to be playing for from a women's perspective.
“The development programs that go from domestic to WABL and our Cougar Pride program. It's incredibly impressive what the club has been able to do. I have big shoes to fill, but I love a challenge and I'm looking forward to elevating it.”
While the transition from player to coach is quite common, you rarely see a player jump to a position like CEO.
Given the nature of the competition, a majority of the players have jobs outside of basketball and Ucich is no exception. Her experience on the court and in media management interlock to make her a perfect fit for the new position.
“I think understanding my professional capability and where those transferable skills lie made it a lot easier for me to feel confident in putting my hand up,” Ucich said.
“There are transferable skills from playing, I've developed my leadership and my adaptability skills professionally and through playing basketball. Things like leadership, being able to lead from the front and make very quick decisions in the heat of the moment, bringing that buy-in with certain people and different groups – I think that's really transferable.”
While only 30 years young, Ucich considers continuing her playing career as a “conflict of interest”, explaining she’s going to put all her time and effort into this new position instead.
“I think it just murkies the water a little bit and I'd like to really take hold of the current situation and learn the role,” she said.
“To see where I can elevate it and playing might detract me from that goal. I'm happy to sit on the sidelines for now and just be the CEO of the club instead and impact the sport that way.”
Image by Tyson Lumbaca: Ucich leading Lakeside on the court last season
While she may be hanging her shoes up, her hunger for winning will most certainly still be on display in her new role. With junior participation at an all-time high, the women’s NBL1 team making back-to-back Grand Finals and Western Australian basketball reaching new heights, Ucich wants to ensure continued success at levels all of the club.
One of her immediate priorities will be the men’s NBL1 side. In the first two seasons of the NBL1 West, they made the finals as the eighth and fourth seeds respectively. However, in the past two seasons, they’ve failed to make the top eight – finishing tied for last on the ladder this past season with a 5-17 record.
With such a strong foundation for success set by the women’s program, the incoming CEO plans to use that template to develop the men’s side – as she sees success at the professional level as an extremely important part of the club’s overall health.
“We acknowledge there’s some work to do. Culture and community will be the number one priority for us, because we believe it will be the base and the foundation for us to be successful in our men’s side, Ucich said.
“That's exactly what the women's team did, Ty got the culture right, with help from Andy Stewart and the board. They managed to bring girls in to believe in a program, like Jewel Williams, who's now going to be one of the stronger leaders at this club. And that's such a success story in itself.
“(Men's head coach) Mark Clayden and the boys are working hard already and we believe the foundation is in place for us to be successful this season, both on and off the court... We're very much invested in making sure that happens.”
As a former captain, Ucich has always worked closely with the leadership teams of the places she’d played. With her experience in setting a playing culture with Lakeside and Joondalup, it has given her the confidence that her leadership can translate to off the floor.
“I've seen what it's like to build successful programs from a captain’s perspective. I've always wanted to be involved with other CEOs of those groups and leadership teams to ensure that the impact that we're having, not just as a team, but as a club spreads, particularly on the women's side of sport,” Ucich said.
“For me, that passion, that understanding of what it takes to make a successful team is, it's pretty good insight to have moving into that CEO role.”
One club’s success she’ll be looking to replicate is the Joondalup Wolves. As powerhouses of Western Australian basketball, their success has been unparalleled in the past few seasons – hosting the 2023 National Finals, both their women’s and men’s teams being championship contenders each year and this season leading the country in viewership.
“In my opinion, they probably have the strongest game night in Western Australia. And I think we're pretty close behind,” she said.
“[CEO] Andrew (Summerville) has produced a very strong and professional club environment there. I look forward to replicating some of those unique aspects. But there are certainly things that we'll be doing that reflect and align more with our community values. Pushing what we want forward as we continue to punch above our weight.
“I think this club in particular has an immense community feel about it. Something that can continue to evolve, bringing coaching, refereeing, playing groups, parents, friends, spectators, and bringing them all in for the journey.”
Ucich’s arrival kickstarts a new era for the club, with Cockburn recently announcing their first female president, Nina Nash, to join her.
Imaged: CEO Tia Ucich, NBL1 captain Jewel Williams and President Nina Nash
For the first time, the club has two women as the association's leaders. Alongside Nash, Ucich wants to show a new generation how women can be leaders both on and off the court.
“I'm fairly confident in my abilities to demonstrate that women can lead at any level that they choose to lead in. We'll be a dual-pronged female-led organisation, which is really exciting for us – we’d like to demonstrate that inclusivity is key,” she said.
“It also just puts different voices in the room that perhaps weren't there previously to help us prioritise women's development. I'm just as passionate about our men's basketball as I am about our women's, but I understand there's still a fair disparity between the two. As a leader though, I have always had a big belief in leaving the door a little bit wider than when you first walked in for the next.
“So, if my role does encourage other people to pursue things beyond playing basketball… then excellent. I love it. But everything will be a by-product of my passion and experience in the landscape.”
