Sandy Brondello is a self-described optimist.<\/p>\n
To wit: the Toronto Tempo coach returned to the city this week for the first time since her introductory press conference in November, and the native Australian was immediately met with a polar vortex.<\/p>\n
But it\u2019s all good, she said in conversation with Sportsnet.ca on Friday, only moments after tossing on a second hoodie even from the warm confines of her hotel room. She\u2019s coached in Russia. She knows about cold weather.<\/p>\n
A few hours later, Brondello headed to her first Maple Leafs game. It was just earlier that morning when she learned the stakes around Mitch Marner\u2019s return with the Vegas Golden Knights.<\/p>\n
Still, the 57-year-old wasn\u2019t about to join the booing masses: \u201cI mean, that’s part of sport, isn’t it? Passionate fans getting at it. \u2026 I\u2019ve heard they\u2019re very loyal fans, and I think that\u2019s great.\u201d<\/p>\n
It shouldn\u2019t come as a surprise, then, that Brondello harbours little worry about the WNBA\u2019s collective bargaining dispute that\u2019s threatening to throw the expansion Tempo\u2019s inaugural season into disarray.<\/p>\n
Earlier in January, the WNBA and its players agreed to a moratorium on league business as the sides continue to negotiate a deal while remaining far apart on key issues like salary and revenue sharing.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere’s no use sweating things that are out of my control, so I try not to get too high or too low \u2014 just have an excitement, look forward to something,\u201d Brondello said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I’m confident it will get done. Now, obviously, it’s above my pay grade, so I’m not sure when that will be, but it will happen and it’s going to be exciting and it’s going to be exciting to build this first Tempo team.\u201d<\/p>\n
On Wednesday, the WNBA dropped its 2026 schedule \u2014 tenuous as it may be \u2014 with the Tempo\u2019s home and franchise opener slated for May 8 against the Washington Mystics at Coca-Cola Coliseum.<\/p>\n
Between now and then, the Tempo will need to fill out a 12-player roster through the expansion draft, entry draft and free agency.<\/p>\n
Brondello said the expansion draft would be first on the calendar if and when the CBA is sorted.<\/p>\n
\u201cOh, we have so many mock drafts,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don’t know what kind of players teams will protect and who will be available and all the rules that go with it yet. But all we can do is prepare as well as we can about potential players that we could get.\u201d<\/p>\n
Just last season, the Golden State Valkyries blazed a trail for expansion clubs by reaching the post-season before falling to the eventual champion Las Vegas Aces.<\/p>\n
However, the Tempo find themselves in a different position \u2014 the impending CBA expiry led nearly every veteran player (Brondello pegged the number at 85 per cent of the league) to time free agency for this off-season in anticipation of increased salaries. Meanwhile, the Tempo are also entering alongside another expansion franchise in the Portland Fire.<\/p>\n
When the Valkyries held their expansion draft in December 2024, they were only allowed to take one player (out of 12) who was scheduled to hit free agency. If those same rules were in place for the Tempo and Fire, there\u2019d be hardly anyone left to choose.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt kind of changes your whole methodology of who you should pick and can pick,\u201d Brondello said.<\/p>\n
Brondello added that there\u2019s a vision in place for the types of players that will dot the inaugural roster, and the Tempo are already preparing their pitch for free agents.<\/p>\n
Still, there remain plenty of variables for a coach who wants to adjust her system to fit the players at her disposal as opposed to stuffing square pegs into round holes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m not a dictator coach. It’s more about the players taking ownership for our overall identity,\u201d Brondello said.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for me, personally, I love tough-minded players who are gritty, who can play, who are selfless, but still obviously have confidence in their ability as well. We need a versatile group.\u00a0If we want to play fast, we need athleticism. But we also need a lot of playmaking and shooting and complementary players around it. And in the end, you still need to rebound.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo I mean, that’s what we love about basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n
Brondello recently tabbed two assistant coaches in Ciara Carl and Brian Lankton who will help shape the roster and its style. The goal is for the bench to grow six or seven coaches deep by the time opening night comes around.<\/p>\n
Carl comes from the Phoenix Mercury, where Brondello said she was lauded for her work as assistant coach and head video co-ordinator since 2023. Lankton, meanwhile, is an import from Brondello\u2019s staff with the New York Liberty, a voice with whom she\u2019s comfortable.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe want to be a world-class organization. We want to make sure the players are getting the very best from the coaches so that we can help them be the very best on the court,\u201d Brondello said.<\/p>\n
Brondello said the schedule release made things feel \u201creal\u201d despite all the lingering uncertainty.<\/p>\n
\u201cI was just looking at how many back-to-backs do we have?” Brondello joked when asked if she had any specific dates circled. (The answer is two, both in late August).<\/p>\n
For now, the coaching trio remains huddled in various online and in-person meetings with the likes of team president Teresa Resch, general manager Monica Wright Rogers, scouting director Mark Schindler, assistant general manager Eli Horowitz and others.<\/p>\n
All they can do is work toward the floodgates eventually opening. And stay optimistic while they’re at it.<\/p>\n
\u201cJust preparing and discussing, and preparing and discussing,\u201d Brondello emphasized, \u201cand being ready for when we’re able to move forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Sandy Brondello is a self-described optimist. To wit: the Toronto Tempo coach returned to the city this week…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430970,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[629],"tags":[49,48,82,630],"class_list":["post-430969","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-wnba","tag-ca","tag-canada","tag-sports","tag-wnba"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430969","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=430969"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/430969\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/430970"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=430969"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=430969"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=430969"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}