Jan Stirling AM
Legendary Australian Coach & Leadership Expert
Jan Stirling is a legendary Australian basketball coach and leadership expert. She led the Opals to Olympic and World Championship medals and Adelaide Lightning to four WNBL titles. Today, she inspires business and community teams to achieve peak performance and unlock their full potential.
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Jan Stirling AM is one of Australia’s most successful and respected coaches, with a legendary career in basketball and a proven record in leadership and high-performance development.
Jan began playing in the ABA (pre-WNBL) at age 13 and was a member of Australia’s 1975 World Championship team. She later became a trailblazing coach, leading the Adelaide Lightning to 12 consecutive WNBL finals, including five straight Grand Final appearances and four championships, earning WNBL Coach of the Year in 1993.
She broke new ground as the first former Australian player — and first woman — to become head coach of the Opals, guiding the team to medals at every major tournament, including bronze at the 2002 World Championships, silver at the 2004 Athens Olympics, gold at the 2006 Commonwealth Games, gold at the 2006 FIBA World Championship, and silver at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Since retiring from coaching, Jan has applied her expertise to workshop facilitation and keynote speaking, inspiring leaders and teams in corporate and community settings. Her clients include Western Mining, Virgin Airlines, Kodak Australia, University of Sydney, University of South Australia, as well as youth and school programs. She has also consulted internationally, including with the Russian Basketball Federation and Port Adelaide Football Club.
In recognition of her outstanding contribution to sport, Jan was appointed a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) in 2008. In 2010, she was appointed Executive Officer of Sports Medicine Australia SA.
Jan is celebrated for her unwavering commitment to helping individuals and teams reach their full potential, bringing the same focus, discipline, and passion to business and community audiences as she did to elite sport.
