Olaf Lange's wife tells us about living between three continents and working side by side with her husband

There is a debate between basketball fans who is more badass the head coach of UMMC (Russia) Olaf Lange or his wife Sandy Brondello. Nowadays she is his assistant coach but she is not a bit less as a professional. Having three Olympic medals, she currently is the head coach of the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA and one of the best Australian basketball players. Sandy pays no attention to this kind of dispute. She believes that the family is a team. The couple has been living in Ekaterinburg since 2012. It was in Ekaterinburg their children saw the snow for the first time in their lives and started playing basketball. Sandy Brondello tells in an interview to “OG” about living between three continents and working side by side with her husband.

A UMMC's training ends, we are in the DIVS's basketball court (in the Palace of sport). The day before our team defeated Turkish “Hatay” here, and now they are training for the next game with “Enisey” (Krasnoyarsk). Later they will win that one too.

When the players (“foxes”) leave the court, two “fox-cubs” appear. While I am talking to Sandy, her children Brody and Jayda start shooting balls with their dad.

— Your relationship with Olaf started while you were playing for a German club. He was your coach. Could you please tell the story.

— I started playing in a German team in 1992, Olaf became an assistant coach in 1995. We started dating a year later when he came during an inter-season period for a traineeship to Australia. It happened so naturally, none of us tried to win over the other. We just felt the nonverbal connection with our hearts. Olaf is younger than me, but he has always looked older. It is amazing to be with him. We talked a lot and at some point we understood that we felt so good together, and our feelings eventually turned into love. Our relationship has never influenced our work. I was a professional basketball player, he was a professional coach. We have always understood the line between our work and personal life. There were no questions for me from the members of my team, I was one of the best players. But Olaf helped me to do even better. I felt his support both as a coach and as a husband.

— You are Australian and Olaf is German. Do you feel the difference in your mentality?

— I have been playing and living in different countries since I was 18. That is why some of my national features thinned. Nevertheless Olaf tried to get accustomed to my Australian slang and speech rate for quite a while. And I was trying to get used to his German. But extremes meet, you know.

— When a husband and a wife are not only specializing in one area, but are working together, it is difficult to avoid some professional discussion at home. Is it good or bad for you?

— We respect each other's opinion, so it is important for us to exchange the ideas. Yes, sometimes a brilliant idea comes in the middle of a lunch and we start to discuss it. And it is OK with us. We work at home a lot so we can't ignore it. But certainly not 24 hours a day. We have children, a plenty of other interests. Basketball is a huge part of our life but it is not the whole life.

— What did you think of the proposal to work in Russia? I know that Olaf came to Ekaterinburg a bit earlier than you.

— We were offered to coach the best team in Europe. It is a great opportunity, naturally, we accepted the offer. Olaf took Brody along with him. I came after the end of the season in America and brought Jayda with me. We travel a lot as a family. We coached and lived in Australia, then in the USA, and now in Russia. At the moment we constantly live between three continents.

— What teams from what countries have you been coaching?

— We had been training a team from Brisbane (Australia) for 2 seasons. Olaf had been the head coach, I had been the assistant coach. Then we got an offer from Russia, so we accepted and moved. The season in Australia begins at the same time with Russia, it was impossible to combine one with another. Nowadays I am the head coach of the Phoenix Mercury. We live in Ekaterinburg during the winter but in summer we move to the USA.

— There was one interview when Olaf called you basketball travelers.

— That is right. I have been living like this for the last 30 years. Sometimes we are so tired of all the flights, but we have no other life. I coach throughout the year. When the season in Russia is over I get on a plane and the next day I work with the Phoenix. I had been playing basketball for 18 years, Olaf helped me to become a coach, develop my own philosophy. He’s been a coach for a long time, that is why he is not so interested in training throughout the year but I am. Today I am at the peak of my career and I don't want to stop.

— Do your children live with you all the time?

— They have been living here with us constantly for the first three years, we had a babysitter from the USA. They were home-schooled. Then they were in America during the fourth season and went to school there. This year they came to Ekaterinburg in the middle of December and didn't want to leave. So we decided to keep them here till the end of the season. Our nanny is coming with all the necessary textbooks soon. Meanwhile we teach them ourselves.

— Do they like Russian winter?

— Both Jayda and Brody (6 and 10 years old) saw the snow for the first time in their lives here, in Russia. During his first winter Brody ran to the window every morning asking when it was going to snow again. They always travel with us, and it is a great experience. They have met many players, they have seen many cities and countries. I think that it is a great opportunity for their personal development.

— Do they play basketball?

— Jayda started playing only this year. Brody has been playing for quite some time. He went to children sports school in Ekaterinburg. Three different coaches worked with him there.

— How do you like to spend free time with your family?

— We like traveling, but we don't have enough opportunities to leave work for a holiday trip. This Christmas we visited Rome all together.

— Do you have any favorite places in Ekaterinburg?

— Yes, they are “Su Mo” restaurant and SPA in Hyatt Regency Ekaterinburg. The children like trampoline park “Razgon”. But sometimes we need some time for ourselves. Olaf likes chess, I hate it. I'd better watch some TV series. It is important for us to spend time both together and apart.

— Children in Russia often spend much time with their grandparents. Is it the same for your family?

— No, for us it is a bit different. Besides Olaf's parents speak only German, but the children know just a few simple phrases. It isn't easy to communicate this way. My parents live in Australia, we usually call them on the phone. But our children are very sociable, they can talk to any person. They don't lack communication.

— I always wondered, if female basketball players like wearing dresses.

— I work as a head coach in the USA. I always wear a dress for a game in the summer. I have a special person who takes care of my clothes in America. It is very cold in Russia, so it isn't comfortable enough to wear dresses.

— I always ask the participants of my project what your woman's wisdom is.

— The first and the most important is that you need to take care of yourself. You get married to be happy. You must be yourself in your marriage, you need to develop yourself, and only then take care of your husband. The second point doesn't exclude the first one — you must be a team. You can love yourself and work for each other. On the one hand we are independent personalities, on the other hand we are a whole. We are a team. We will have been together for 21 years the next June.

— Do you celebrate your anniversaries?

— Very rarely. When we were younger we celebrated them. Now it is a competition who remembers first.

— For how long are you planning to stay in Russia?

— Who knows. But I need to tell you we are very comfortable here both professionally and personally.

— At the moment Olaf is a head coach and you are an assistant coach. But once it was vice versa. Which is simpler for you?

— I am comfortable in both situations. Probably it is better now, when I am assisting. I think that being a head coach is more of a male job.