PATH TO PARIS: Thomaidis touch takes underdog Germans to Olympics

This summer, Thomaidis will add another accolade to her already legendary resume, as she prepares for her fourth Olympic Games this summer in Paris, and her third at the helm as head coach. 

However, there is one aspect of this trip that is markedly different from Thomaidis’ previous Olympic appearances. She will no longer be donning the red and white of Team Canada, instead, Thomaidis will be leading the young and promising German national team, who are eager to make a splash in their first ever Olympic appearance this summer.

Thomaidis first took over command of Team Germany’s women’s national team in early 2023, when she accepted an offer to become the team’s head coach. Originally, the opportunity was meant to be only a brief return to the international basketball scene, as Germany was (and remains), a considerable underdog on the world stage. 

“Initially, I took the job with Team Germany thinking it would be a one-month gig,” said Thomaidis. “They were looking for a coach and they needed someone that could get them through EuroBasket. So, I thought what a great opportunity, a chance to work with a different team in a completely different environment, with a short-term commitment.

“That’s what I entered the experience with, and, as it turned out, the team exceeded expectations. It was a fantastic group of women to work with, and our result in EuroBasket qualified us for the next tournament. One thing led to the next, we went into the Olympic qualifier and did the impossible and qualified for the Olympics.”

The moment Thomaidis was referring to is the 2024 Olympic Qualifying Tournament in Belem, Brazil, which took place in February. In the tournament, Germany shocked the world when it defeated eighth-ranked Brazil by a razor thin margin, 73-71.

Thomaidis has carved out a career for herself by squeezing water from stone, exceeding expectations at every corner on her way to establishing the Huskies as a perennial national title contender. This time around with Germany, Thomaidis even managed to surprise herself, proving once again that she may just have the Midas touch.

“When I was done with Canada Basketball in 2020 after Tokyo, I thought well that’s for sure my last Olympics,” she said. “Now, to be going to another one with the German team and to be in the process of making history with them as the first trip to the Olympics for their team, it feels really special. 

Thomaidis sees several parallels between those Canadian national teams of the early 2010s and her current German squad.

“I went to one Olympics as an assistant and two as a head coach,” she said. “By the end of my tenure with the Canadian national team, we had really built a lot. We had come from limited resources, a place of low commitment, and mostly collegiate athletes. We really built that program from the ground up. We were ranked about 11th after the 2012 London Games and by the end of my tenure we were the No.4 ranked team in the world. It was quite a process and by the end the expectation was medal or bust, which we unfortunately never achieved. 

“So that chapter closes, and the Germany opportunity arises,” Thomaidis added. “When I took over, we (Germany) were ranked No.36 in the world. It was really a process of building, bringing the best players together and I think a big part of it was having them believe in what they are capable of. This group of women are really driven to achieve success, and they are finally starting to see their hard work pay off. It’s been awesome to experience because many of them have committed such a big portion of their lives to this, so I’m really happy for them. In a sense, Team Germany is kind of like a throwback to our early Canada teams of the 2010s, before we really made our mark on the world’s biggest stage.”

One aspect of Thomaidis’ new role that differs from her previous experience is in the selection process of Team Germany’s staff. 

“When I was originally hired, the German Federation essentially rolled out the red carpet and told me to put together my staff. They said, you choose, you decide,” she said. “That is something that is unique in international competition and something that was very positive.” 

Excited about the support from the federation, the three-time U SPORTS Coach of the Year set about assembling a veritable dream-team of some of the best and brightest brains in basketball.

“Firstly, I was able to bring the former associate head coach and assistant head coach of the Huskies, Claire Meadows, now the head coach of Queen’s,” she said. “Next, we were able to add another longtime friend and colleague of mine on the Canadian national team, Anne Marie Thuss, and a German professional coach, Sidney Parsons, that has been a mainstay with the German national team. Since that time, we were also able to add Huskie assistant Connor Jay as a performance analyst and video scout. He’s a guy that has a big skillset.

“Overall, we have an amazing staff that really gelled,” Thomaidis said. “Obviously there’s a lot of history with most of the staff, and Sydney is a great fit with the team as well. She’s high-energy, hard-working and really fits within our team dynamic. The staff has made the process fun. They’re all people I really enjoy being around, I trust immensely, and all are excellent in what they do. 

The 2024 Olympic women’s basketball tournament will take place in Paris from July 28-August 11. Each team will play three group games, one against each team in their group. The two top teams from each group will advance, along with the two highest-ranked third placed teams, to the elimination rounds. 

Thomaidis and her staff will have their work cut out for them, as they have just a month to prepare for the Paris Olympics together as a team. Noting the differences between her regular duties coaching the Huskies, which is a year-long gig, the nine-time Canada West champion is leading an accelerated preparation process with Germany.

“We’ll have about four weeks together before the Olympics start and we’re going to have eight exhibition games. We’re all over the place,” she said. “We have a couple games in Finland, a tournament in Poland, and an exhibition game in Berlin. Then we go to Great Britain and play our final two games, one against Great Britain and one against the USA. It’ll be jam-packed and great preparation for what lies ahead.”

As an additional wrinkle, the women’s basketball tournament is unique, as the best players in the world from the WNBA are not released for international competition until right before the Olympic tournament.

“They only get released from the WNBA about 10 days before the start of the Olympic Games,” said Thomaidis. “As you can imagine you are preparing as best as you can with the rest of your squad and then right before the Games you are adding some high-impact, high-profile athletes to your team. Now the positive thing is that every team that enters the Olympics is dealing with this, possibly with the exception of France. It’s a challenge that we embrace.

“We have three athletes currently in the WNBA, one of them being Satou Sabally, who is a first-team WNBA All-Star and one of the best players in the world. What has paid off for us has been the time spent together during the November and February windows. A lot of the chemistry, culture and identity has been established during those windows. We’re hoping that serves us well but obviously there will be a big adjustment period when we add them to the mix. It’s good that we’ve had some time together. It’s been a while but once they get there, I’m sure they’ll remember exactly what it was like and get back into that environment.”

If all that wasn’t enough, Team Germany has been drawn into the Group of Death, which includes Belgium – the reigning EuroBasket champion; Japan – the silver medalist in the 2020 Olympic Games; and Team USA – winners of seven straight Olympic gold medals dating back to 1996.

On the bright side, Germany will have a chance to test its mettle leading into the Games as they face Team USA in the renowned O2 Arena in London, England on July 23, five days before they face Belgium in the first game of the group stage on July 29. As Thomaidis explains, Germany is embracing the opportunity.

“Anytime you get an opportunity to play the best team in the world, it gives you that measuring stick,” she said. “You get to see where you’re at, where you get to improve, areas that you need to get better at and we’re going to get that right before the Olympics. We’re not a top-five team in the world right now, but that’s absolutely where we want to be, and this is all part of the process. It will only help us moving forward. 

“It’ll be a great game at an amazing venue in the O2 in London, England. A chance to play on the biggest stage against the best opponent.”

Despite the tough draw, Thomaidis and her team are determined to establish Germany as a force to be reckoned with in international women’s basketball.

“We’re going to be a big underdog in every game, but this is just one of the stepping stones on our path to become a top-10 program in the world. Any time you get to play against the best, it’s another opportunity for us to show what we’ve got and continue to improve,” she said.

“Next year is EuroBasket. The year after, we (Germany) host the World Cup. Ultimately, this is what we’re building towards. We know we’ll have a great showing, so we want to perform well for the fans. This past November we played a home game in Hamburg Germany and the place was sold out. So that was really cool because the opportunity is there to grow the sport in Germany. It’s a sporting country, but basketball is not yet one of them. I believe this is a really great opportunity to try and inspire the next generation of young girls and boys. A chance to build something and make our mark is a fun part of this job.

“Last year our mantra was ‘Prove That We Belong’ and show that we deserve to be one of the best teams in the world, and that’s exactly what we’ll be striving to achieve again this summer. That we deserve to be here and that it wasn’t a fluke.”

Germany tips off against Belgium in Round 1on Monday, July 29 at 5:30 am CST, while Team Canada opens against tournament host France in the next game, beginning at 9:30 am CST. 

The full tournament schedule can be accessed here.