Searching for golden basketball talent in Ballarat

GIPPSLAND’S up and coming basketball talent was on show at last week’s Gold Nugget Camp in Ballarat, with a strong contingent of players representing the Korumburra-based South Gippsland academy in boys and girls sections.

Players were chosen for the camp based on their efforts at South Gippsland academy sessions, having been accepted into the South Gippsland academy in March, and generally taking part in weekly sessions in Korumburra, with some held in other locations.

Academy training involves lots of skill-based sessions, with an emphasis on achieving the style of play consistent across country Victoria.

Representatives at the camp were divided into under 14s and under 15s.

Gold Nugget participants are put through a range of challenges, with their performance at the camp determining whether they are selected for upcoming events, the Australian Junior Basketball Cup in Albury and the Southern Cross Challenge in Knox.

Thirty-two young basketballers were chosen to represent the South Gippsland academy in Ballarat, with an even split between boys and girls.

The South Gippsland contingent is a blend of players from local basketball associations, including Korumburra, Foster, Phillip Island, and Wonthaggi and those from further afield areas such as Pakenham, Warragul and Kilsyth.

That reflects the willingness of many talented youngsters to travel considerable distances to be part of the Korumburra-based academy program.

Korumburra Basketball Association president and high performance coach for Basketball Victoria, Mat Holmes, kept a close eye on proceedings at the Gold Nugget Camp.

As well as watching the progress of South Gippsland talent, he was checking out the efforts of kids from other areas, being the coach of the under 16 Victoria Country team.

While unable to give too much away after the Gold Nugget Camp, with selections yet to be made for upcoming competitions, Holmes was delighted with the talent on show, including those representing the South Gippsland academy.

Over 230 basketballers from around Victoria took part across the two days of the camp, with boys in action last Wednesday and girls the following day.

“We were worried about the impact of Covid on this group, but it was good to see they’d picked up their skill set and both of the camps (boys and girls) were really encouraging and made selections hard,” Holmes said.

He added that those who miss out on selection to represent Victoria Country shouldn’t be discouraged and will “keep building on their own pathway”.

Victoria Country will have under 14s teams in both the Southern Cross Challenge and the Australian Country Cup, while under 15s sides will only participate in the Southern Cross Challenge.

Holmes said that with a number of Gippsland basketballers among those trying out for under 16 and under 18 representative sides, it is the “culmination of the high performance programs for Victoria Country”.