Adelaide Lightning part ways with its head coach in the midst of franchise sale chaos

In the midst of the franchise sale, Adelaide Lightning have parted ways with its head coach Nat Hurst and as MICHAEL RANDALL reports, she’s ready to reunite with her family.

Nat Hurst admits she shed tears on Monday when her tenure as Adelaide Lightning coach ended abruptly.

But by Tuesday when the playing group was told, her mind had shifted to family and future.

Amid a horror 2-6 start that leaves the Lightning languishing in second last on the WNBL table, Hurst and the club parted ways eight games into her third year as coach.

The 41-year-old is now ready to reunite with wife Tara and daughter Billie, who remained in Canberra while she and son Nash lived in Adelaide.

“The decision (to part ways) was made yesterday and, yes, I’ve had a few tears but I have bigger responsibilities right now to worry about an opportunity that unfortunately is missed for me,” Hurst told Code Sports on Tuesday.

“I need to be a good mum and I need to be strong for them and I need to continue to build myself and show them my resilience.

“I don’t want to be sitting here feeling so sad sack for myself, feeling sorry for myself, I can’t do that. I have a family and I have two children who I want to show how we deal with adversity.”

Adelaide has made the move to sack head coach, Nat Hurst. Picture: Sarah Reed/Getty Images

The news comes amid uncertainty around the future of the Lightning with property developer Pelligra attempting to sell the franchise amid heavy losses.

It’s understood the decision for Hurst to move on was made against a backdrop of a growing divide between playing group and coach.

A source told Code Sports both sides shouldered blame for the situation the club finds itself in, given the team’s meagre record belies the level of talent at its disposal.

Paris bronze Olympic Opals Steph Talbot and Izzy Borlase lead a squad featuring WNBA talent Brianna Turner, import playmaker Japreece Dean and highly-rated sharpshooter Issie Bourne.

Hurst, who addressed the players Tuesday morning, said she would have liked to have extracted more out of the group, which finished seventh in each of her two previous seasons as coach.

“Some of my parting words today were ‘you’re a really good group and the shit can get turned around’ and I hope it happens for them,” Hurst said.

Hurst wasn’t able to get the best out of the team. Picture: Kelly Defina/Getty Images

“There were some tough spots but, in sport, when the winning record isn’t there like it should be, this kind of thing happens all the time.”

Hurst’s son’s last day of school in Adelaide is Friday and the pair will then return to Canberra to be with Tara and Billie.

“I don’t think I completely ever really felt settled without them but that was the decision that we made as a family and I’ve been doing it for the last couple of years,” Hurst said.

Hurst, in May, was named interim coach of the NZ women’s national team and led the Tall Ferns in recent FIBA World Cup qualifiers in Mexico.

She remains focused on a future in coaching.

“I’m going to have a little bit of down time, I’ve got some stuff with NZ basketball in the works and things might pop up in the (NZ women’s) Tauihi league,” she said.

“I am going to take a lot of learning, a lot of growth, and I’m going to keep building.

“I want to make a career out of this and I’m not going to just stop at one hurdle.”

Hurst remains one of the most successful WNBL players of all time as a former grand final MVP and seven-time champion.

It’s understood the Lightning are attempting to move quickly to find a replacement for Hurst, with lead assistant Matthew Clarke likely to step in as interim.

The Lightning host the Capitals on Sunday in a clash of the WNBL’s bottom two teams.

Originally published as Adelaide Lightning part ways with its head coach in the midst of franchise sale chaos