RAINMEN NEWS: Head Coach Les Berry resigns from head coaching duties

The Halifax Rainmen have announced that Head Coach, Les Berry, has resigned from the Rainmen head coaching duties to pursue another job opportunity outside of basketball.  Berry, who is from Halifax, joined the Rainmen team in February of 2009.  Previous to his time with the Rainmen, Berry had 11 years coaching experience at the college/university level.  He was the head coach of the Acadia Axemen in 2006-07 when they went to the CIS Finals against the Brock Badgers.

He had coached his first full season with the Rainmen last season and led the Rainmen to a 13-7 record which included the franchise’s first playoff berth.  “It was a great experience to coach in the best basketball city in Canada,” said Berry in a press release from the Halifax Rainmen. “I thank Andre (Levingston) for providing me with the opportunity to be part of a fantastic organization.”

The Rainmen will quickly fill the spot for Berry and are expected to announce the new head coach on Wednesday, January 26th.  It remains to be seen if it will be a local Halifax coach or a coach with previous minor league/PBL coaching experience that will be filling in the head coaching role.  The Rainmen currently hold a 4-2 record and play the Saint John Mill Rats in Halifax on January 29th.

OTHER RAINMEN NEWS:

-The Rainmen have signed former NBA talent, Kirk Snyder.  Snyder played four seasons in the NBA, playing in 211 NBA games with the Utah Jazz, Minnesota Timberwolves, Houston Rockets and New Orleans Hornets.

-Snyder is looking to make a comeback into basketball after being convicted of aggravated burglary, felonious assault and assault in 2009.  He was diagnosed with a mental disorder but has been cleared to play basketball.

-Snyder made his debut on Sunday when the Rainmen played the Kentucky Bluegrass Stallions in Kentucky. Kenny Jones (20 points, 14 rebounds) led Kentucky to the 99-89 win over the Rainmen. Taliek Brown and Kavon Jones both had 20 points for the Halifax Rainmen.

Photo courtesy of the Halifax Rainmen