It was the boys who were committed to improving their basketball skills at the trials for the Armidale Lions representative teams over the last two Sundays. Armidale will be nominating Under 18, Under 16 and Under 14 men in this year’s Northern Junior League Competition (NJL).
The competition will see Armidale play against teams from Tamworth, Coffs Harbour, Lismore, Port Macquarie Grafton and others during the year. The NJL competition involves at least 4 weekends away (five if you get to the top four) with the first of the weekends being held here in Armidale on April 21 and 22. There is great camaraderie between players and families involved and the skill levels of the players improves tremendously. It is hoped that Armidale can put on warmer weather than last year and that the event attracts a lot of support.
Armidale has had great success over the past years getting to the finals in most grades and even winning a few with the U18s taking out the trophy only last year. However, each year is different as new players come and old players get too old to play juniors. Referees also improve their skills as all games are fully timed and they get to practice in a more professional atmosphere.
