Members of the Altona under-14 basketball side that will be wreaking havoc on rival basketball clubs across Australia. 70493 Picture: JOE MASTROIANNI
By Liam Twomey
BASKETBALL clubs from around Australia watch out, the Altona under-14 boys will mean business when they touch down in Queensland for the National Club Championships this week.
The tournament will bring to a head over a year of hard work from players, coaches and parents as the boys prepare to take on some of the best junior basketball sides from around Australia.
It was over a year ago when Altona Basketball Club held tryouts for the under-14 boys sides, which over 40 players attended.
From that, a first side was chosen and the team’s coach Darren Hindle knew he was on to a winning formula straight away.
Since then the side has progressed through a number of grading games and the Victorian Championships to ultimately earn a top four ranking in Victoria and book their trip to Queensland.
This is the first time an Altona team has made the championships in the 22 years the club has been in existence.
Simon Hine, whose son Lachlan plays in the team, said a large part of the credit should go to the team’s coach.
“Darren is a bit of an inspiration, he isn’t what you would call a conventional coach,” Hine said.
“As soon as this team came together he had a goal to get them to the nationals.”
The team has been training twice a week and playing once competitively in preparation for their debut on the national stage.
They have also competed in a number of tournaments in Victoria and in South Australia to further help their preparation.
“It hasn’t so much been about training the boys on court but also getting them ready mentally for what they will come up against,” Hine said.
“The preparation has been great and the whole process is fantastic for the boys. It gives them a chance to see that there is more to basketball than just what they experience in the Western Suburbs.”
Before departing the boys were given a send-off by the Gators community at a special club day two weeks ago.
Over 150 people attended to watch the under-14s show exactly why they will be a force to be reckoned with at the championships as they defeated the under-16 boys by one point in an exhibition match.
They were also presented with the jerseys they will wear in Brisbane.
“It was a great day for the boys and it was great to get so many people there to support the boys,” Hine said.
Altona will take on Bankstown, Townsville and Wanneroo when the tournament kicks off with the top two teams from each pool going through to the next round of competition.
Hine said the team would like to thank a number of local businesses for the support they received in raising $20,000 for the team to make the trip.
The boys are intent on doing the club and Victorian basketball proud.
