A month after being announced as the new coach of the Connecticut Sun in the WNBA, Rachid Meziane reached the United States this weekend. Having said goodbye to his club Villeneuve d'Ascq, the 44-year-old French coach officially begins his new life, a pioneering life since no coach with European training has ever obtained a position as “head coach” in the American Women's League!
“It's pride but it's also an additional pressure because even if I opened a door, I especially want this door to remain open. And that others can join us » he explains to us like this.
A builder
One more step in an atypical career path for the technician, which breaks the codes of an environment where positions have often been reserved for former professional basketball players. Rachid Meziane only tasted Nationale 2, before injuries pushed him to move into coaching full-time.
“My older brothers and my father were rather attracted to football, my father having played it at a high level, and it all started following a move, at the time when they were setting up all the “City stadiums” that we see in working-class neighborhoods. Once we played football there, with our ball, we ended up playing basketball there. It’s something that I liked, it corresponded to the post-Olympic Games in Barcelona with the “Dream Team” which, as its name suggests, made me dream.” tells us the native of Clermont-Ferrand. “So I quickly became interested in basketball and I was very quickly captivated by the tactical culture of the game, the collective spirit… I started practicing it and, very quickly too, by providing a service to my local club. 'AS Montferrand, to train young categories. And that’s ultimately how I got here today. »
The rest is a journey of life and opportunities which will push him towards women's basketball, from his recruitment by the Auvergne basketball league to take care of the men's and women's Hope Center, his meeting with Stéphanie Dubois, a former professional basketball player who becomes his wife then his integration into the organization chart of the Challes-les-Eaux training center after meeting the president of the club while he visits apartments with his partner.
“If I had to define myself, I would say that I am a builder. I like to build, to work in the long term because when you want to build and develop a culture of winning, and not just a culture of achievement, it happens over time. This is done in the medium term and that's why I like to define myself as a builder. »
Trust karma and destiny
Is this what attracted the Connecticut Sun, which is embarking on a new cycle with the departure of its coach, Stephanie White, and the leaders (Alyssa Thomas, DeWanna Bonner, Brionna Jones, etc.) who are all “free agents”?
“There may be some of that, although I think most of it has to do with the success of the last few years” he admits. “I am European champion with the Belgian selection in 2023, we are champions of France with Villeneuve d'Ascq, vice-champions in the Euroleague while we know that French teams have difficulty making the last four in the Euroleague , not because we are not good but because we do not have the economy of Turkish clubs or at the time Russian clubs. »
Proud of what he has done in the North over the last six years, Rachid Meziane was approached by the very rich and ambitious Turkish club Mersin last April. Villeneuve d'Ascq then blocked his departure but, a few months later, it was the WNBA that rang the doorbell. Impossible to deprive the coach of this opportunity.
It is also a constant in the coach's career, yet not the type to force things. Each time a door closes, another, larger one, seems to open before him…
“I often say that it’s karma, destiny, that things are written. Indeed, not having had this opportunity in Mersin and now joining the WNBA, it is easy to say today that it is a blessing in disguise but these are not things that we can control. But beyond opening doors, it has always been very important in my values to never force things. I have always respected the functions I may have had as an assistant. We know that we can sometimes have assistants with malicious intentions, I have always respected the coaches with whom I have worked. And I have never knocked on the door of a club to offer my services. It has been my way of doing things, in my life and in my career, to let destiny do things. And it’s true that in hindsight, the story is beautiful. Especially for someone who has not been a professional basketball player, who is a kid from the northern districts of Clermont-Ferrand, from a working-class family. »
A four-year contract with Connecticut
The beautiful story will therefore continue in the United States for Rachid Meziane, aware of diving into another world, a world not necessarily always kind to “outsiders”.
“Being able to count on a contract period long enough to build is reassuring. Of course, I'm taking the place of an American coach so that puts additional pressure but I don't want to let myself be polluted by this negative pressure. I want to concentrate on my work and Connecticut puts me in very good conditions to give the best of myself and it is in this state of mind that I will go there. »
With a four-year contract in his pocket, the French coach can build in the medium term, as he likes to do.
“There is a real desire to be in co-construction at all levels, at the level of the workforce or the staff. All thoughts are shared, there is a lot of consultation with Morgan Tuck, the GM, or Darius Taylor, the director of sports affairs. Decisions are made collegially, with our president Jennifer Rizzotti. I really feel that Connecticut is doing everything possible to put me in the best conditions. Even if I know that joining the WNBA is really going out of my comfort zone, compared to what I know in France, there are really very good intentions on their part to give me confidence. »
Because it is a whole new cycle which is beginning for the club, accustomed to the playoffs since 2017, with notably two lost Finals (2020 and 2022), which should rebuild a new project, notably with the French Leïla Lacan.
“We are going to put all the cards on the table. There is a new cycle that is taking place, so we want to be competitive, if only to attract prospects and young players, but there is a new page to write in the history of Connecticut. It's also reassuring to know that I'm joining a franchise that trusts its coaches and that gives the impression of working for the long term with its managers. »
Collective playing principles
Appreciated for his serenity and the calm he exudes from the bench, Rachid Meziane was also recruited for his style of play. A style based on the collective and the sharing of responsibilities, both in attack and in defense.
“The coaches necessarily have a style of play but, for me, it is the players who define the game and therefore the construction of the team represents 85% of the style of play that we will have on the field” he explains again. “What I like is having shared responsibilities, shared scoring, shared efforts. I like to build my teams with the idea of knowing that we can score points in a lot of playing positions. So that doesn't necessarily mean building around superstars or, if we have superstars, registering them in a collective game culture project. To speak purely about basketball, I want the ball to circulate, with passing, movement, a good inside/outside alternation, and therefore develop a real tactical culture too. I am not the type to bet on a single player and I try to remain faithful to this principle of sharing. »
Principles that have proven themselves wherever he has gone.
“If we look at the last five years at Villeneuve d'Ascq, I have five or six players who are more than ten points on average. Today, the notion of skill and in particular the 3-point shot is also essential. And then the last thing is up-tempo, putting rhythm. On the defensive level, there are obviously non-negotiable things in effort, energy, holding duels and controlling basic but essential things at the very high level: rebounding, defensive withdrawal. I didn't invent anything but coming back to simple, well-done and effective things is really the basketball of the future. »
What about coaching in English? Rachid Meziane is not worried about this change, even if he admits to taking lessons to develop his pronunciation and vocabulary, especially with a view to interacting with the press.
“We always have foreign players in our squad, even if it will be different to manage a predominantly English-speaking team when we are more used to having a predominantly French-speaking team. Speaking English on the ground doesn't pose a problem for me, I'm not sure I can hold three-hour conversations in the street, talking about American politics, but as far as the field is concerned, I have no doubts on my ability to be able to do it. It's going to be a challenge, English is not my mother tongue but I have already implemented things to improve my skills at that level. And it's not something that stresses me out. »
There are enough other challenges, bigger and more tricky, awaiting the French pioneer in the WNBA.
