Toronto Tempo Coach Sandy Brondello Brings Collaborative Spirit to Inaugural Camp
The Toronto Tempo are officially here, and Sandy Brondello’s first-ever training camp in Canada has a lot of energy. Brondello, who brings years of multi-faceted experience as both a player and coach, is leading the expansion team with a clear set of non-negotiables.
“You have to be a good teammate — how you come every day, the energy that you bring,” Brondello said. “We have to have a growth mindset in everything that we do as an expansion team. We have to have competitive excellence.”
Brondello emphasizes that competitive excellence isn’t just about wins and losses. “It’s about, how do we come ready to be better every single day? You know, they’re things that you can control, but most importantly, for me, is that togetherness.”
“Everyone has to be on the same page, where it’s not five individual players, it’s one team. We are one team, and we all have to own our roles, whatever that role will be,” she added.
Brondello’s Coaching Style
Brondello brings a culture of collaboration to Toronto, one she says is strengthened by a coaching and management group that’s full of former players. She has been vocal about collaborating to create the Tempo’s inaugural roster, but also wants that spirit to be true in her relationships with her players.
“I’m not a dictator. I played pro for 18 years and, you know, I suppose we were great, but it’s more that there’s a system in place,” she said. “We do have non-negotiables, no one’s a free for all. We have our principles of play that they have to live by, but still understanding who am I, who am I playing with, and who’s guarding me? They’re the most important things.”
“I’m always talking to the players, because once they get in the game, if they see something, you know, my ego’s not that big. I’m like, ‘Yeah, do it! Go for it. Run with it.’ I’ve done this for a long time. I think I know what I’m doing, but I learn as much from the players as well, and I lean into their experience, and I think it just adds layers to what our potential can be.”
Isabelle Harrison, who signed with the Tempo on April 12, previously played under Brondello with the New York Liberty. “Sandy’s a player’s coach and you can have a conversation with her. That’s something I’ve always appreciated about Sandy,” Harrison said. “Sandy used to practice with us. Sometimes she used to go on the court with us, and that’s like one of my favourite memories of her when I got into the WNBA, so just a really smart coach, someone that wants everybody to show their best, and she just is a really encouraging coach, and that’s hard to come by sometimes.”
Brondello’s Background
Brondello comes with a long, impressive resume. She is one of Australia’s best shooting guards of all time and her .410 three-point percentage ranks fourth on the WNBA’s all-time record list. She has won three Olympic medals and four World Championships as a player and another Olympic medal as a coach. She led the New York Liberty to the WNBA finals and her Olympic coaching tenure will continue through the 2028 Games.
For Temi Fágbénlé, who signed with the Tempo on April 14, having a coach and general manager who both played basketball makes a big difference in an organization. “Just as a player, you have a different understanding of the game and a different understanding of what’s important within a team to achieve success,” she said. “I assumed that they thought similarly to how I thought, and I think I was right.”
For players and coaches alike, the challenge of being a brand-new team is exciting and one they’re willing to take on together. The first step, Brondello says, is getting the players familiar with the system and with each other.
“I enjoy this. I love teaching,” she said. “In New York, you can just go, ‘we’re doing this,’ and they get it. You’re like, ‘oh yeah, that’s pretty easy.’ But we have to teach a little bit more and be very intentional with what we’re putting in and how we’re doing it, but I thought they grasped the concepts that we put in.”
“Now it’s learning to play with each other and you know, how do we create the space and keep the space? It’s fun. I’ve had great teams in the last years. This is a different team, it’s starting from scratch, but that’s why I wanted to come here, because it was a different challenge for me. The players are embracing it. That’s all we can ask.”
