Breakers name first female coach in NBL

A woman will coach in the NBL for the first time next season after New Zealand Breakers' ground-breaking promotion of Chanel Pompallier.

Former New Zealand international basketballer Pompallier has replaced Zico Coronel in a coaching staff which is otherwise unchanged from that which took the Breakers within a whisker of the finals last month.

Dan Shamir will remain as head coach with his fellow-Israeli Mody Moar and Pompallier his assistants.

It continues a growing trend from the NBA where 11 women hold assistant coaching positions.

Pompallier's appointment was welcomed by club veteran guard Corey Webster.

"Chanel was also a good basketball player. She was one of the first women players in New Zealand to go and play in college, so she's got a great basketball IQ and knows the game very well and she will bring that," he said in a club statement.

"I think the bigger thing for her will be just learning under Dan and Mody and helping out where she can."