Ryan Petrik (born 4 March 1981) is an Australian basketball coach who currently serves as head coach of the

Rockingham Flames Rockingham Flames is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of the Rockingham Basketball and Recreation Association (RBRA), the major administrat ...

men's and women's teams in the

NBL1 West NBL1 West, formerly the State Basketball League (SBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Western Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Western Australia partnered with the National Basketball L ...

. He served as head coach of the

Perth Lynx The Perth Lynx are an Australian professional basketball team based in Perth, Western Australia. The Lynx compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at both WA Basketball Centre, Bendat Basketball Centre ...

in the

Women's National Basketball League The Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) is a professional women's basketball list of basketball leagues, league in Australia composed of eight teams. The league was founded in 1981 and is the Women's sports, women's counterpart to the Na ...

(WNBL) between 2020 and 2025. Petrik has served as head coach with the Rockingham Flames since 2009. Between 2009 and 2018, he was in charge of the women's team in the

State Basketball League NBL1 West, formerly the State Basketball League (SBL), is a semi-professional basketball league in Western Australia, comprising both a men's and women's competition. In 2020, Basketball Western Australia partnered with the National Basketball L ...

(SBL), leading the Flames to two

championships In sport, a championship is a competition in which the aim is to decide which individual or team is the champion. Championship systems Various forms of competition can be referred to by the term championship. Title match system In this sys ...

(2014 and 2015) and earned SBL Coach of the Year honours in 2012. In 2019, he was re-assigned to head coach of the men's team, guiding the Flames to the NBL1 West championship and NBL1 National championship in 2022. During the 2025 NBL1 West season, he took on dual responsibility as head coach of both the Flames men and women. Between 2015 and 2020, Petrik served as an assistant coach with the Perth Lynx. He was elevated to Lynx head coach in 2020 and was named the WNBL Coach of the Year in 2022.

Early life

Petrik was born and bred in

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, in the suburb of Rockingham.

Coaching career

Rockingham Flames

Petrik began his coaching career with the

men's team in the

(SBL). He served as the assistant coach of the men's team for four years before being elevated to head coach of the women's team for the 2009 season. In his first season as head coach, he led the team to one of their best ever performances with a third-place finish and a 15–7 record with no imports and just one national league player. The 2010 season saw the Flames women finish in second place with a 16–6 record while the 2011 season saw them finish last with a 2–20 record. In

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

, Petrik guided the Flames to the grand final, where they lost to the

South West Slammers South West Slammers is an NBL1 West club based in Bunbury, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The Slammers play their home games at Eaton Recreation Centre and represent Western Australia's South W ...

. For the season, Petrik was named the SBL Coach of the Year. In

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, the Flames finished first with a 20–2 record and returned to the grand final. There they defeated the

Lakeside Lightning Lakeside Lightning is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is owned and managed by Lakeside Baptist Church. The Lightning play their home games at Lakeside R ...

to claim their maiden SBL championship. In

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, the Flames finished as minor premiers for the second straight year, once again with a 20–2 record. They made their way through to another grand final, where they defeated the

Willetton Tigers Willetton Tigers is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Willetton Basketball Association (WBA), the major administrative basketball organi ...

to win back-to-back championships. Following the 2018 season, Petrik made the switch from coach of the women's team to coach of the men's team for the

2019 season Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number) * One of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (1987 film), a 1987 science fiction film * '' 19-Nineteen'', a 2009 South Korean film * '' Dici ...

. He returned as men's coach in 2020 for the West Coast Classic. In 2021, Petrik guided the men's team to their first ever grand final in the inaugural NBL1 West season, where they lost 92–82 to the

Perry Lakes Hawks Perry Lakes Hawks is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Perry Lakes Basketball Association (PLBA), the major administrative basketball org ...

. In

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, he guided the team to another grand final appearance and their first ever championship, defeating the

Geraldton Buccaneers The Geraldton Buccaneers, also known as the Buccs, are an Australian basketball team based in Geraldton, Western Australia. The Buccaneers compete in the Men's NBL1 West and play their home games at Activewest Stadium. The team is affiliated with ...

91–79. At the 2022 NBL1 National Finals, the team was crowned

national champions National champions are corporations which are technically private businesses but due to governmental policy are ceded a dominant position in a national economy. In this system, these large organizations are expected not only to seek profit but als ...

after defeating the

Frankston Blues Frankston Blues is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Frankston & District Basketball Association (FDBA), the major administrative basketbal ...

in the championship game. Returning to the Flames for the

2023 NBL1 West season The 2023 NBL1 West season was the third season of the NBL1 West and 34th overall in State Basketball League (SBL) / NBL1 West history. The regular season began on Friday 31 March and ended on Saturday 22 July. The finals began on Friday 28 July a ...

, he guided the team to first place in the regular season with a 19–3 record before losing to the

Joondalup Wolves Joondalup Wolves is an NBL1 West club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 West. The club is a division of Wanneroo Basketball Association (WBA), the major administrative basketball organisa ...

in the preliminary final. At the 2023 NBL1 National Finals, the team reached the grand final where they lost 90–85 to the

Knox Raiders Knox Raiders is a NBL1 South club based in Melbourne, Victoria. The club fields a team in both the Men's and Women's NBL1 South. The club is a division of Knox Basketball Incorporated (KBI), the major administrative basketball organisation in the ...

. In October 2023, Petrik signed a two-year deal with the Flames to remain as men's head coach until the end of 2025. He was subsequently appointed in a dual role as the Flames' high performance manager. On 17 May 2025, Petrik assumed dual responsibility as head coach of both the Flames men and women after the club parted ways with women's head coach, Lukas Carey.

Perth Lynx

In June 2015, Petrik joined the

of the

(WNBL) as an assistant coach. In June 2020, after five seasons as an assistant under Andy Stewart, Petrik was appointed head coach of the Lynx on a two-year deal. He debuted as head coach in the 2020 WNBL Hub season in Queensland due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. The Lynx finished the season in seventh place with a 4–9 record. In the 2021–22 season, Petrik was named the WNBL Coach of the Year after guiding the Lynx to second place with an 11–5 record. They went on to reach the WNBL Grand Final, where they lost the series 2–1 to the

Melbourne Boomers Geelong United is an Australian professional basketball team based in Geelong, Victoria. United compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at Geelong Arena. Beginning as the Bulleen Boomers in 1984, the ...

. On 30 May 2022, Petrik re-signed as coach of the Lynx on a multi-year contract. In the 2023–24 season, the Lynx finished in fourth place with an 11–10 record and defeated the first-placed

Townsville Fire The Townsville Fire are an Australian professional basketball team competing in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL). The Fire are based in Townsville, Queensland, and play their home games at Townsville Entertainment and Convention Ce ...

in the semi-finals to reach their second grand final series in three years. They went on to lose the grand final 2–1 to the

Southside Flyers The Southside Flyers are an Australian professional basketball team based in Melbourne, Victoria. The Flyers compete in the Women's National Basketball League (WNBL) and play their home games at the State Basketball Centre. For sponsorship pur ...

. On 4 July 2024, Petrik re-signed as coach of the Lynx for the

2024–25 WNBL season The 2024–25 WNBL season was the 45th season of the competition since its establishment in 1981. The Southside Flyers were the defending champions, but they failed to qualify for Finals this season. The Bendigo Spirit won their third champions ...

Personal life

Petrik's father was president of Rockingham Basketball during the 1990s. In 2019, Petrik married Women's SBL player Chelsea Armstrong. The couple had their first child in April 2021.

References

External links

Old Rockingham Flames coaching profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Petrik, Ryan 1981 births Living people Australian men's basketball coaches Australian women's basketball coaches Perth Lynx coaches