Fourth and final week..

The players now enter the fourth and final week of training...

The trainings have been extremely hard session's. Attendances have been fantastic with the only times we have not had full sessions has been work commitments.






While most kids are having a relaxing time through the school holidays, 12 kids have been working extremely hard out at the Whyalla basketball stadium. The athletes have completed 15 two hour sessions under the guidance of Sean Sheedy.
The athletes are all getting ready for the Australian Junior Country Championships in Albury/Wodonga and the Pacific Coast Slam in Pt Macquarie, having been recently selected to represent the South Australian country in basketball. South Australia sends two teams to Albury/Wodonga, Sharks and Magpies. They also send 1 team in the men’s and women’s age group to Pt Macquarie in the under 15’s and the under 17’s.
From the 2 teams, South Australian selectors chose the best 10 players to again represent S.A. country at the Australian National Championships held at different locations across Australia.
Each team will play 4 minor round games and then move onto to play finals, depending on where they finish in their group. South Australia has been successful in recent years with the under 16 women’s team winning last year.
Under 18 players such as Tegan Crocker, captain of her team, the Magpies and Shannon Tarran, who will be playing for Sharks, are going to Albury/Wodonga for the 5th time in the under 18 women’s division. Both young ladies also made the national’s side last year and will be looking to have solid games and be major contributors to their teams to again gain selection in that team.
Chad McLean will also be playing for S.A country in the under 18 men’s division in the Sharks team. This is Chad’s 3rd time away representing S.A. country, but only his 2nd for S.A. country. Chad has also represented S.A. metro as a bottom age 15. Chad made the S.A. metro national’s team that played in Perth 2 years ago.
All three top age athletes have been instrumental leaders to the rest of the training squad and have shown great leadership.
In the under 16 men’s division Michael Baker and Jack Vigar will be competing for S.A. Both are in the Magpies team. For both it will be there 3rd time away and the experience they have gained from previous times will help them and their team. Both young men played in Pt Macquarie last year and only just missed out on gaining selection for the national’s team. Both will be looking to have solid performances this time round at Albury to guarantee selection in the national’s side this year.
Rhianna Stringer will also be making her 3rd representation for S.A. country in the Magpies team. Rhianna also played in Pt Macquarie last year and also made the national’s team playing in Tasmania. She will be looking to have a strong performance at Albury so she is again selected in the national’s side to play in Logan, Queensland later this year.
Brad Coulson is Whyalla’s sole selection heading to Pt Macquarie. This is Brad’s 2nd time in the state side and is a great team contributor. He too will be out to prove his worth and attempt to gain selection for the national’s team. Brad’s laid back manner off the court is not shown when he gets on the court where he is explosive and terrorising. Something his opponents will find out.
Our newest state representatives are Nikeisha McNamara, Jenna Daniels, Jasmine Bridgman and Bianca Clements in the under 14 women’s and Lewis MacLauchlan in the 14 men’s division.
Nikeisha and Jasmine will be playing together in the Magpies and Jenna and Bianca will be in the Sharks. While the young ladies will be in different teams, they will be staying at the same hotel and will have constant contact with each other. They will however room with players from a different region to assist them in gaining new friends and not just sticking with the ‘locals’.
Lewis will be playing in the Sharks side and as always will be a valuable contributor as he is when representing Whyalla at combined level. While he is the only under 14 boy from Whyalla, he will have no trouble in making new friends from around the state.
All 5 athletes will be going over to soak in the atmosphere and enjoy the Country Championship while trying to play their best and learn as much as they can. This will be an extremely new experience for not only the players, but their families. The weather is an average 38° in January and while the stadiums are air conditioned, the conditions will still be hot and muggy.
We wish the athletes good luck and all the best and we hope for success. Whyalla is proud of them and I am sure they will do Whyalla proud.