Representative Basketball Players & Parents Information Handbook Season 2016 - 2017 Welcome to the Werribee Basketball Association Congratulations on being selected to represent the Werribee Basketball Association (WBA) in the Victorian Junior Basketball League (VJBL) for 2016 – 2017, also known as the “Representative” or “Rep” program. The VJBL is an elite competition where the best players, coaches and teams from around Victoria compete each Friday night to be recognised as the best team in the State. WBA has identified you and your teammates as players that have the potential to represent us to compete at this level. To our new players and their parents, a warm welcome to the WBA and the Representative program. We hope that through hard work, dedication and participation, you will achieve excellence in basketball. With your commitment to the Representative Program we will be able to enhance your skills, ability and basketball knowledge through our experienced coaching staff and elite training structure. Your attendance at all training sessions and games is a priority for your improvement and development. Commitment to your team, coach and club are essential as the program requires dedication from all its members. Accepting a position in the program is a yearlong commitment with tryouts, grading phases, tournaments and the VJBL season spanning between October and September the following year. To our existing players and parents, welcome back for yet another season and we sincerely thank you for your support over the last season/s. We wish to thank our Domestic Clubs for their tireless efforts in providing a local competition for all players. The WBA exists because of our home grown and local player talents’ and desire to pursue excellence in basketball at Representative level. Above all else, selection into Representative basketball is only the first step into basketball’s elite pathway. What you make of it is entirely up to the amount of work you put in. Believe in yourself and build a bond of trust with your fellow players as you will quickly learn there is no “I” in team. The WBA is here to help motivate, encourage and always support you where we can. Please take the time to read this Handbook and utilise its reference material as the season progresses. You will also find useful player and parent resources on our WBA website www.werribeebasketball.com and the VJBL website www.vjbl.com.au which provides fixtures, results, ladder and a host of other useful information for the coming season. Sincerely, Brendan Doyle- Chair – Representative Committee Werribee Basketball Association | Welcome to the Werribee Basketball Association 2 History of Werribee Basketball Association (WBA) The Werribee Basketball Association Inc. (WBA) was formed in 1972 by a group of volunteers to develop and promote the sport of basketball in what was the City of Werribee. A domestic competition for juniors was started in school halls and moved to the Council owned Recreation Centre in Werribee in 1978, facilitating 3 courts. Following this move to the recreation centre, a senior domestic competition also commenced and in 1982, a representative senior men’s team (The Werribee Devils) was formed and played in the former South East Basketball Conference (now the Basketball Victoria “Big V” Competition). Junior representative teams, selected from players in the junior domestic competition, in varying age groups joined the Victorian Junior Basketball League Competition in 1985, followed by a senior women’s representative team in the Women’s Country Victoria Invitational Basketball League (now the Big V competition) in 1988. In 1990, the basketball competitions continued to grow and it was obvious that the Recreation Centre could no longer cater for the needs of an expanding WBA. The new Basketball Stadium was finally completed and opened in 1993, providing an additional 3 courts. Fast forward to 2015 and the WBA found a new home in Eagle Stadium, with Stage 1 (8 courts) completed and operational in May 2015. A further 4 courts were completed in April 2016 as part of Stage 2, completing the $52 million dollar redevelopment and providing the WBA with world class facilities. The WBA currently has 15 junior domestic clubs with over 330 teams and 3700+ members, a senior domestic competition with 140+ teams and a Representative program with more than 30 teams. Last year more 250,000 people passed through the stadium doors for basketball, making the Werribee Basketball Association the largest provider of recreational sport in the City of Wyndham. Werribee “Devils” is the representative arm of the WBA and begins at Under 12 for both boys and girls. It continues through to the Senior Championship teams for both Men and Women. Werribee “Devils” have been very successful at state championship level, with our junior teams winning a number of premierships over the years with the highlight being our Under 14 boys who were Australian Champions in 1994 and again in 2008. The Werribee Senior Men won 5 Big V Premierships during the 1990’s and are very highly regarded in the basketball fraternity. The Senior Women won a tournament in 2008 and continue to be very competitive. The WBA is regarded as one of the top associations in Victoria, competing with larger associations such as Dandenong and Knox, who have over 600 junior teams. The successful growth of the Association is due to the volunteer support and community benefit; principles established by the founding volunteers, who have contributed enormously over the years as have countless others. As the Werribee Basketball Association celebrates more than 40 years of community basketball, the tradition of making quality basketball available to all in the region continues. Werribee Basketball Association | History of Werribee Basketball Association (WBA) 3 Basketball Victoria Basketball Victoria is the governing body for basketball in Victoria and is responsible for managing the Junior Representative program. Basketball Victoria also organises / operates development programs, talent identification camps, the state team program and regional development programs such as Hoop Time. The broad objectives of Basketball Victoria are to:- 1. Encourage, promote, manage and control the sport of basketball in the state of Victoria 2. Represent the interest of basketball and players within the state of Victoria at national level 3. Encourage the development of socially desirable attitudes and values towards physical fitness and skill acquisition through play, training and competition 4. Provide access for individuals to participate in the sport of basket in the state of Victoria 5. Provide individuals with opportunity to maximise their potential by competing in the highest level of basketball possible, given their own ability The Basketball Victoria web site is an excellent source of information regarding all aspects of the junior representative program. For further information visit www.basketballvictoria.com.au or for more specific information about Friday night competition www.vjbl.com.au Werribee Basketball Association | Basketball Victoria 4 BV Player Development Pathway Basketball Victoria is committed to player development and has defined its player pathway below. This pathway is driven toward achieving high performance players, which is identified via development camps through the year. Performance at these camps may lead to BV performance programs and potential State selection. Players nominated for performance camps are encouraged to learn and perform at their best to achieve the best for themselves. Werribee Basketball Association | BV Player Development Pathway 5 Age Grouping Players are sorted by their age. Age grouping for 2016-2017 is as follows - • Under 12 – eligible players must not turn 12 in 2017, they are born in 2006 or later • Under 14 – eligible players must not turn 14 in 2017, they are born in 2004 or 2005 • Under 16 – eligible players must not turn 16 in 2017, they are born in 2002 or 2003 • Under 18 – eligible players must not turn 18 in 2017, they are born in 2000 or 2001 • Under 20 – eligible players must not turn 20 in 2017, they are born in 1998 or 1999 Werribee Basketball Association | BV Player Development Pathway 6 Junior Representative Basketball Representative teams play on Friday evenings in competitions managed by Basketball Victoria, who is the peak body for basketball in this State. This competition includes Victorian Championship (VC), Victorian Junior League (VJL), Eastern Qualifying (EQ) and Northwest Conference (NW). Teams in these competitions play at stadiums throughout greater metropolitan Melbourne and country Victoria. In the 2016-2017 Season, Werribee will be competing in the Junior Representative program. • Boys teams from Under 12 – Under 20 • Girls teams from Under 12 – Under 18 In 2016, many of our teams competed in the Eltham-Dandenong tournament over the Australia Day long weekend in January, as well as the Nunawading tournament over Queen’s Birthday long weekend in June. Werribee were also fortunate to have the 12-1 and 18 – 1 Boys and the 16 – 1 Girls participate in the invitation-only National Junior Classic held at Dandenong also over the Queen’s Birthday long weekend. The representative program also provides many pathways for junior players to play at higher levels in the future. Several junior players from both the boys and girls programs have gone on to represent Victoria Metro at the Australian Junior Championships e.g. Dante Exum and in recent years, Werribee players Michael Luxford and Joshua Oswald (pictured left) have represented Australia at the Under 17 and Under 19 World Championships Werribee has also had success in the past with players receiving scholarships to play basketball and study in the USA at college level. Players such as Michael Czepil, Mark Beecroft, Louise Johnson, Bridgett Ardossi and Stacey Barr have all been successful in playing Division 1 College Basketball. Werribee has also seen great success for past players in the professional ranks with Daryl Corletto, Neil Mottram, Marcus Wright and Lee Jeka (pictured bottom right) making a career out of the game.