WestFront coverCoast copy Bounceto go here front cover February 2012 copy to go here Date to go here Inside this issue: TOUR TO THE HEART "AS we move into the 21st century ning drills and several team games land and reflecting on these amaz- Board Member Profile 2 we must remember the lesson and outside. The game I enjoyed ing children, and how wonderful achievements of the past. The the most was "The Highway" in their teacher is to put so much WA Players in College 4 vision, commitment, dedication which skills such as running time and energy into being a posi- and cultural integrity of many (driving), hopping (flat tyre) and tive influence as well as educating people has brought us to where we skipping (bumpy road) reflected them. Waves Player Profile 7 are today and carries us towards a driving conditions. Such a simple solid future." I was introduced to game with huge significance to Next stop was the local hospital Drill of the Month 8 this quote during a radio interview their learning and understanding. where Rohanee Cox and I visited on our basketball road trip to Alice several sick children. I work in the Springs last week. It was then I fully When it was time to say goodbye medical industry so you'd think Website of the Month 9 realised the importance of our visit. some children gave us high-fives, that I'd be used to needles, drips, but most wrapped their arms vomiting, cuts and bruises, but no. Mixed Basketball 9 I might be a fair bit older than most around us and held us tightly. I will I didn't faint and hopefully we put a of my West Coast Waves team- never forget that moment. smile on these kids' faces. mates and of course wiser but I was so touched to be there, It was a relatively quiet trip back to Melissa Marsh writes a weekly learning more about the history of our hotel. I didn't say much as I was column for PerthNow Upcoming Events our land and its people. We didn't taking in the surroundings of the just play a game; we engaged with 2 - 4 March 2012 the communities and hopefully SBL Pre-season Blitz helped influence children's lives. At the Amoonguna Community we 10 - 11 March 2012 were greeted by about 20 indige- U12 and U14 All-star Weekend nous schoolchildren, who at first were extremely shy, though I could 16 - 18 March 2012 see the excitement in their eyes SBL—Week 1 and I realised how much of a differ- ence we as athletes can make in their lives. 26 March 2012 U20 Coach Applications Open We played basketball games, run- F ROM T HE CEO February is well and truly upon us and the level of basketball activity has increased dramatically since I wrote in the January issue of the West Coast Bounce. The Country Basketball Championships are now in full swing, culminating in the Senior Championships to be held over the long week- end in March. A special thanks to the many volunteers and BWA staff who have worked so hard to put the championships together and to the many teams from all over the state who have travelled to compete. The long weekend also sees the SBL pre-season tournament being staged at the WA Basketball Centre where teams will get an opportu- nity to see how their own and opposition players line up for what promises to be another exciting season. Of interest to our members will be the agreement between Basketball WA and Venues West for use of the courts at the WA Basketball Centre. We are cur- rently in the process of discussing a longer term agreement. As always, the Board and I are concerned as your representatives to ensure basketball remains affordable to you the participants and the Mums and Dads that have children playing our great sport. We will keep you informed of progress and are cognisant of this being of interest and importance to many of our members. In our push to provide greater services to our members, you will have noticed a renewed focus on BWA staff travelling to member Associations to conduct education and training. I am pleased to report that we have secured additional funding to employ an Association Development Officer to assist Associations with the ‘business’ side of basketball. Applications are now open to fill this position. See page 2 for more informa- tion. Another key plank in providing greater services is the Association Conference to be held on 23 and 24 April this year. More information on enrolment and content will be available in the next few weeks. Basketball Western Australia PO Box 185 FLOREAT WA 6014 9284 0555 [email protected] BWA B OARD MEMBER PROFILE Name: Andrew Hugh Stewart Position on Board: Elected Member When joined BWA Board: Board member since July 2011 Profile: Andy is currently a member of Lakeside Lightning Basketball Association and Lakeside Baptist Church. Andy is the Head Coach of the Lakeside Lightning SBL program and has been so for 12 years. He has been an Assistant Coach with the Perth Wildcats for three years and a Head Coach with Athletes in Action for 15 years. Andy has under- taken the role of President of the Lakeside Lightning for the past 17 years and continues in this role. Andy’s other interests include spending time with his family and bike riding. EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY Association Development Officer (Position Number 120217) A new exciting and rewarding opportunity has become available to join Basketball WA as an Association Development Officer. This position will be responsible for providing support and guidance to Basketball WA Member Associations. The successful candidate will have highly developed interpersonal and written and oral communication skills, the ability to work with volunteers and on multiple projects simultaneously, be proficient in the use of the Microsoft Office suite and possess the ability to work as part of a team while also working with limited supervision. Demonstrated skills in governance of sporting organisations business planning and a sound understanding of the struc- ture of basketball in Western Australia are highly desirable. We are looking to interview potential applicants immediately with the successful applicant starting straight away. A full position description is available at www.basketballwa.asn.au or may be obtained by telephoning Basketball WA on (08) 6272 0741. Confidential applications may be made in word format, quoting the relevant position number and sent to [email protected] or mailed to Lisa Teua, Basketball WA, PO Box 185 Floreat WA 6014. Applications Close – 5pm Monday 27 February 2012 EDUCATION AND TRAINING DEVELOPMENT CAMPS Education is at the forefront this term with another successful Level 1 Over 330 young basketballers throughout the coaching course conducted last weekend at the WABC by BWA’s own State had attended 1 of the 3 State Develop- Coach Adam Forde. In the coming weeks, a Level O coach course has been ment Camps which were held in January at scheduled to help new coaches or coaches who simply want a refresher on the WA Basketball Centre. current best practice in teaching basketball skills and fundamentals. Bas- ketball WA’s commitment to Education and Training has seen courses The Under 12s Shooting Stars Camp and Un- conducted not only at Association bases, but also educational institutions der 14s Hot Shots Camp was a great success with Murdoch University and Corpus Christi College looking to engage with some players being identified for the their students in formal accredited coaching education this month. newly formed FDP –Future Development Pro- gram. Officiating also took central stage last week with Albany hosting a Level 1 course presented by current National League Referee Coach Carey McAl- For the Under 16s Development Camp, it was lan. Over twenty participants were enrolled in the officiating course in the a great opportunity to bring the players from Great Southern and the education will boost referee standard and confi- Metro and Country together as they prepare dence in the Albany competition. for the National Tournament in July. From the camps also, the Under 12s showed their sup- In the coming weeks, a whole host of education courses are coming port for the West Coast Waves as they came through with the referee, scorebench, statisticians and coaching courses away with their first home win against the available in both metropolitan and country areas. heavily favoured Bendigo team. A reminder that Basketball WA has its own Upcoming Courses page, where The Under 16s put on a half time show during you can find details of all accredited and planned courses organised near the Wildcats win over Townsville at Challenge you. Stadium. EAST PERTH’S JOSEPH ACQUIL HEADING TO THE AIS East Perth’s Joseph Acquil has received a scholarship to attend the Australian Institute of Sport Men’s Basketball Program. The 17 year old was identified by Luc Longley and BWA High Perform- ance Manager Dave Herbert in the WABL U18s competition last year. Coach Herbert says ‘Joseph is an exciting young prospect and it is to the credit of Steve Williams and East Perth for identify- ing and developing Joseph. I look forward to seeing him continue to develop in our country’s high performance program’. We asked Joseph a few questions about starting at the AIS: Height: 208cm Age: 17 Club: East Perth Eagles Who has been his greatest influence in basketball? WA players Joseph Acquil (middle) and Keanu Pinder ( Right) at Coach Williams the Australian Development Camp Background when did he start playing basketball and who for? Started playing WABL in 2010 for East Perth It’s a very good environment to be in.