Growing club looks to continue expansion

WITH their number of teams ever-expanding, members of one of Ballarat’s largest basketball clubs are looking to fill gaps in their junior ranks this season.

Phoenix Basketball members are calling out for new players, born between 2006 and 2019, to help sure up some of their junior teams.

Girls coordinator Toni Gudgeon said it’s important for the club to round out each side.

“We’ve mostly got full teams. We don’t like to have six though, we at least aim for seven or eight so the kids can always get on the court every week regardless of absences,” she said.

“We want to boost our numbers so kids aren’t having walkovers or missing games. We always try to find a spot for anybody who wants to play, even once the season’s started.”

With about 31 junior girls teams, Gudgeon said she’s wanting to fill two female sides in particular.

“Our big focus is getting who qualify for our under 8s and under 10s so we can boost the number of players in the team,” she said.

“Girls are a little bit slower to get into basketball. I think we have seven or eight under 8 boys teams while our girls just have the two and that’s just 12 players between them.

“We think it’s a good idea to get more girls involved in basketball at a younger age to try and keep them playing, because they tend to drop off sports as they get older.”

Phoenix Basketball’s teams train regularly at Ballarat High School’s The Arch Centre, scheduled around the availability of coaches, many of whom are parent volunteers.

In keeping with their goal of maintaining accessibility, the club has appointed two directors of coaching for the first time this season, who’ll lead developmental, and coach training sessions to take place next month.

“It’s about getting things in place to help our parent coaches a bit of a head start and their kids the best chance at development and constant improvement which is our biggest thing,” Ms Gudgeon said.

To express interest in joining Phoenix Basketball, visit the club’s Facebook page or email [email protected].