MILWAUKEE — It was no surprise to the people around Sidney Dobner when she became the first female Assistant Coach in Milwaukee Bucks history. Starting with the G-League affiliate, Wisconsin Herd as a Video Coordinator, Dobner worked her way up from a front office role to the Head Video Coordinator job in Milwaukee en route to the bench alongside head coach Adrian Griffin.
WTMJ’s Tony Cartagena spoke exclusively with Dobner about the current Milwaukee Bucks roster, how her role has changed over the years, expectations for the season and her message to young girls who want to break into coaching professional sports.
Dobner told WTMJ her big break came during a time of unrest, when many of her friends and colleagues were ushered out from the previous coaching staff under Mike Budenholzer. She helped with the interviewing process by preparing video assets, among other things prior to Griffin’s arrival. It quickly became apparent that she belonged in a coaching role.
“It’s challenging — a whole new staff, getting to know each other, kind of learning how they do things a little bit different and the same and how to make it the most efficient and try to impact winning,” Dobner explained. “This is going to be a fun season.”
As Sidney Dobner learned more about the organization during a period of change this summer, that course of events also reaffirmed what she already knew about this team: It’s built to win, and she can help. That began as she on-boarded the team’s new Video Coordinator and spent a significant amount of time around the young Bucks at NBA Summer League.
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“That’s the cool part about these guys: I’ve been very thankful to have a roster [where] they’re just good human beings from top to bottom, starting with Giannis all the way down to 2-Ways and everybody that we have,” Dobner said. “We have three players that are franchise-leading scorers. Like, that’s unheard of, in my opinion.”
Staying humble is part of what put Dobner in this position in the first place. She puts her head down, fills in gaps for her team and gets the job done — a trait that’s essential for an assistant coach on a contending team.
“At the end of the day, I’m here to coach, and it’s great to be the one who breaks through the glass ceiling here, but you never think of yourself as that person,” Dobner explained. “My role is just to work hard, stay humble. There’s millions of people who want to do this job for free, so my job now is to not lose it.”
Nonetheless, Sidney Dobner hopes more women will see coaching as a viable career path despite the hurdles they face in the industry. Her message to those who want to give it a try but don’t know where to start?
“You have to fall in love with the process. It’s not easy. There’s a lot of work that goes into this,” Dobner said. “One of my things is ‘Work hard, stay humble.’ No job is too little or too big, but day in and day out, you’re just staying true to yourself. You never know who’s watching.”
If you want to watch the interview but cannot do so in your browser, click here to watch on YouTube.
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