A JOURNEY almost a year in the making will come to a crescendo for 11 of the region’s most talented basketballers when they compete for glory on the national stage this weekend.
After winning the division 1 Junior Country Basketball Championships title in April this year, the Swan Hill Flyers’ under 12 girls’ team will now compete against the most talented teams in the country at the National Junior Classic in Melbourne, starting on Saturday.
The Flyers will begin their tournament against West Adelaide before coming up against Melbourne-based teams Nunawading and Sandringham to round out their three pool A matches.
It’s been a long 10-month journey for the girls and their coach Tess Denham, with tryouts for the Flyers’ squad held all the way back in August last year.
Denham and her squad are now eagerly awaiting the challenge ahead.
“We’re all so excited,” Denham told The Guardian this week.
“It’s pretty unbelievable really, when you think about it, that the girls have made it this far, but at the same time they thoroughly deserve to be there with the amount of work they have all put into their basketball over the past 12 months or so.
“We have a certain degree of expectations as to what could be possible.
“The girls know that if they go out there, have a good attitude and try their best I’ll be happy regardless of what the end result is.
“It will be tough, there’s no doubt about that.
“They are going to have much tougher competition than what they have faced in the past, and I think the girls realise that, but at the same time they are very capable of competing against tough competition.
“The girls are ready, the staff are ready, the parents are ready.
“It’s all very exciting and no matter what happens we are all very proud of them.”
Having won 36 of their 38 matches across the representative season, the Flyers will go into the National Junior Classic full of confidence, with the team having already broken a 40-year drought by becoming the first Swan Hill Flyers outfit to win a division 1 title at the Junior Country Championships since 1983.
It will be the squad’s first trip to the State Basketball Centre in Dandenong, however, with the team’s progression through the tournament dependent on their pool results on Saturday.
The finals will be played on Sunday and the grand final on Monday morning.
“We couldn’t have imagined that this group would achieve what they have,” Denham said.
“There were nine girls who were new to squad at the start of our campaign 10 months ago and they’ve done a hell of a job for their first season.
“It’s almost been a full year with these girls but they love it.
“Their attitude is just amazing for a group of their age.
“They keep fronting up every week and wanting to improve, and that makes my job easier.
“I’ve got a very good bond with these girls.
“They all get along with me and each other and I’ve had no dramas whatsoever, which I think has been a huge factor in why they have been as successful as they have so far.
“Not only are they talented basketballers but they are just very good girls period, with very good families and support systems.
“They absolutely love it.
“They always want to train, they always want to do individual sessions, group sessions, they can’t get enough of it and are always looking to improve and get better, and as a coach you can’t ask for more than that.”
While all 11 girls are only just starting out on their basketball journeys, Denham said she hoped their success continued to blaze a path for those to come and show the big metropolitan centres that regional teams packed just as big a punch.
“It’s a huge achievement not just for the girls but for basketball in Swan Hill,” Denham said.
“After COVID, it was a bit of a struggle for a period of time trying to get junior numbers back into basketball and sport in general, but I think kids are now starting to realise how important sport can be with developing friendships and confidence.
“Whether we win or not is almost irrelevant: just seeing these girls compete at this level is an achievement in itself and hopefully it encourages other young girls to get out there and give basketball a go, because it’s a sport where anything is possible.”
Swan Hill Flyers’ under 12 girls’ squad
Marley Brown
Willow Cadd
Isabel Free
Scarlett Free
Mia Hirst
Rubi Kelly
Pippy Morton
Arlee Parsons
Ivy Patterson
Stella Scott
Mabel Spitty
