Euroa basketball offers extensive support and encouragement

Euroa Basketball Association By HEATHER BAMFORD THE Euroa Basketball Association continues to go from strength to strength which demonstrates the involvement and commitment by many parents and volunteers. The association now has a number of boys and girls playing representative basketball locally and further afield. The under 16 boys team played their first tournament over the Australia Day weekend in Bendigo. They performed consistently and won through to the quarter final where they were narrowly beaten by Warrnambool by one goal. They have very strong support from coach Paul Allen, Scott Reid (assistant) and team manager Kate Petersen. The team includes Hugh Murphy, Ely Reid, Baxter Fraser, Charlie Thompson, Bailey Allen, Nic Watson, Max Miller and Harry Shiner. This team then went on to play in the Junior Country Basketball League (JCBL), which was established because of the impact of COVID on this particular sport and the large numbers of young people who have been attending tournaments. The JCBL format is where representative teams play against other towns in a home and away series. On Saturday, January 30, the under 16 team played against Mansfield in Benalla and won by 40 points. This team will need to be closely watched in the future in relation to their progress and achievements. The under 14 boys who are coached by Kobey Ashcroft and supported by team manager Jaimie Hamill, played in Wodonga against Wodonga on Saturday, January 30 in their first game of the season. Team members include Aaron Hamill, Campbell Baker, Bryce Ashcroft, Ethan Saxon, Jackson Walker, Alexander Burke, Archy Harrison and Max Smyth. Two under 16 girls, Ruby Watson and Immy Putt play for Benalla. They also had the opportunity to play in the Bendigo tournament and this provided the perfect chance for further development of their skills and court strategies. Macey Watson and Matilda Riddle, under 14 players, have also been playing in Benalla. They both played their first JCBL game against Mansfield in Benalla on the weekend in a game that they won easily - 28 to four. The Victorian Junior Basketball League is now providing further challenging events for some players. This league represents the North East which enables player to come up against players from metropolitan regions. Aaron Hamill (under 14) plays for Wallan and Bailey Allen, Charlie Thompson and Ely Reed play under 16 in Benalla. All of these young basketballers take this involvement very seriously where they have committed themselves to very serious training They continue to maintain their fitness, work on ball movement, understand and use clear communication on the court and constantly practise their lay-ups/jump shots. Coupled with these many elements of basketball, all children will be making good friends and developing relationships with a wide variety of people. Despite not previously having access to the ECA centre at Euroa Secondary College, the basketballers have forged ahead and have, until recently, headed down to Seymour so that they could train indoors. Starting on February 8, the local basketball competition will be returning to the ECA centre which has a variety of upgrades including new rings, new scoreboards and air conditioning. There will be competitions on Monday and Wednesday night with rep team training on Thursday. All involved with this sport at the local level, should be congratulated on their endeavors to support and encourage our local youngsters.

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