Hoops

Up and coming clubs in Victorian Basketball?

The youth league being under 23 age group has its positives, and could also have a detrimental effect as I see it, especially for those Associations looking at keeping players in the youth league beyond their use by date perhaps looking for wins.

This may be a separate topic also, but is related to how up and coming Associations best use their pathways to grow their junior talent I believe it is relevant.

Crucial call, to get it right, playing teenagers in the youth league is great to fast track them, but the balance needs to be correct. Get this right and you grow your top end, get it wrong and you risk two things:

1. Burn out, too many at the younger end, not able to compete, may lose confidence.
2. Block out, too many older players keeping the younger ones from getting opportunity to grow.

Sthn Pen are obviously developing their juniors, which if I am correct is the whole idea of Youth League, sheep stations are for the other comps. The roster for the Sharks, oldest player was 17, average age 15. Happy is right, the girls fought it out right to the end and never gave up. Sthn Pen have a number of talented juniors who will mature over the next couple of years.

I'd expect some good things out of Hume especially with Mark Landells there. Participation rates amongst domestic clubs on the rise, and huge growth corridor. Don't see anything wrong with the above personnel how about the tiime effort and hours put in over the years. Lets see all the baggers put their time in.

Agree Paul, surely any new showcourt should be built to a minimum capacity of around the 2500 - 3000 mark, as an Australian standard?

Just seems to be common sense really...

This is in no way racist, but TW is spot on, so if we wish to identify hot spots in the future we may need to look at areas with big population growth especially where large placements of Sudanese refugees are located.

These areas especially, if supported by local governement as they seem to be, will be among the next basketball power houses, for sure...

I would presume this to be the case in other states too, not just in Victoria?

I have noticed that at Altona they are bursting at the seams, they have built new courts I believe and as soon at they got them they were also full.

The western reagion surrounding Altona is exploding in the young tee age group and basketball seems very popular, they have come a long way IMO.

Corio Bay in the Country has four courts also bursting at the seams so they use satelite venues and their entry into the BigV is driving popularity and providing pathways similar to that of medium size Associations. Not a big boy yet, but numbers are quite good and growing.

The new courts built in places like Sunbury will provide opportunities for massive basketball growth should the basketball administrators stay on track, but without support of a local council to provide more courts you will struggle to grow regardless.

Hawthorn for me is the pick of them all, their junior program has gone banana's easily becoming the best in the country in the 12's and 14's with now all other age groups (bar 20's & the 18's girls) being in vc. Now their Senior program is competing at high level big v as well, I only see positives for them from here.

Sandringham I'd also almost consider one of the big clubs but their juniors are very up and down with their consistency of constantly being around the top of vc year after year but theres no doubting their senior program.

Needle in a hay stack stuff,the biggest problem in basketball today is the administration and lack of professionalism and it start at the top and goes all the way down. In the metro areas you could argue McKinnon, Sandringham, Ringwood and Hawthorn appear to be going in the right direction, country is a basket case, aside from Geelong, Ballarat and Bendigo it looks like amateur hour.

Does anyone know what the season-by-season average 36ers home game attendance stats are? I really want to know what they are.