HEATHCOTE Panthers are looking for junior basketballers for the upcoming summer season.<\/p>\n
Club president Alan Butler said anyone born in 2009 or later would be eligible to play for teams in the under 10 to under 16 age groups.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’re looking for under 18s as well if people are interested,\u201d he said. \u201cIf we can form teams we will do so for any age group, up to and including adults.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe usually play in Bendigo as a competition, but we train in Heathcote.<\/p>\n
\u201cYoung children can come along and try out and if they can’t make it to Bendigo for games, we’re more than happy to just have them do the training so they can join in the fun.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Butler said the Heathcote Panthers pride themselves on being an inclusive club.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur culture is based around making sure that participation is front and centre,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cParticipation with no exclusions, although obviously in competitions we’re restricted with age exclusions and that\u2019s something that’s out of our hands.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut for training purposes, and also for playing purposes, we do not allow anybody to say that they’re better than others.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s something we really enforce, that there are to be absolutely no heroes involved, it’s all about the team.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt’s a team game and you learn to play as a team.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Butler said the pandemic had helped shape the current ethos of the club.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019ve gone from being focused on a certain group that\u2019s playing well, and is obviously very sports minded, to guys that are just wanting to get in and have a crack,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve got young kids who would probably not participate in any other sport.\u201d<\/p>\n
The club does still produce promising players though, with four youngsters selected recently for the Bendigo Braves junior development squad.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe’ve excelled with how many referees we’ve produced too,\u201d Mr Butler said. \u201cOver the last five years we’ve had about 10.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI have a big focus on that side things, I’m heavily involved with Bendigo basketball as far as refereeing goes.<\/p>\n
\u201cI’m head of the technical official committee, I’m a referee and referee supervisor.\u201d<\/p>\n
Expressions of interest for the summer season close on Friday 25 August, for more information call Alan Butler on 0418 589 020.<\/p>\n
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