THERE’S a nice irony to the fact that every Thursday evening, a talented bunch of teenage basketballers meet in a Maryborough stadium to drill until they drop.
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After all, the small central Victorian town is home to Cleveland Cavaliers NBA player and Australian Boomers star Matthew Dellavedova.
And the drive and determination displayed by these kids is no different to that which helped take Dellavedova all the way to the top of his game and into the world’s premier hoop competition.
They are part of Basketball Victoria Country’s National Intensive Training Program - an elite squad of male and female athletes plucked out of domestic competitions across the state for specialised coaching to help them reach their full potential.
Among the 26 who attend the Maryborough program are Bendigo association players Jessie Rennie, Laura Anderson, Taylor Stibbe, Alexandra Strawhorn and Danielle O’Toole.
All five have been involved in Bendigo Braves and Victoria Country representative programs and Strawhorn, just 16, has already made her senior SEABL debut for the Lady Braves.
The girls eat, breathe and sleep basketball, playing and training for club and squad teams almost seven days a week - and can often be found bouncing a ball or shooting hoops on their days off.
Anderson lives in Swan Hill, but her parents and grandparents regularly make the four-hour return trip so she can take part in the best pathways possible.
Rennie dreams of playing in the WNBL and hopes her training sessions in Maryborough will help her get there.
“From my time in NITP, I hope to gain confidence, broaden my basketball IQ, learn as many things as I can, and be the best player I can be,” she says.
“It will give me the skills and knowledge that will further my career.”
From my time in NITP, I hope to gain confidence, broaden my basketball IQ, learn as many things as I can, and be the best player I can be.
- Jessie Rennie
Basketball Victoria’s country high-performance coach Justin Schueller said the NITP targeted the best under-16 and under-18 players from regional areas.
“It underpins the National Performance Program for players on the verge of selection in national junior teams who have the potential to become Boomers and Opals,” he said.
“This is for younger athletes who may have that potential or who represent Victoria Country at Australian championships.
“We have 68 athletes across seven satellite centres, with weekly training sessions running from August until June.
“Maryborough hosts players from Bendigo and Ballarat, as well as some from Horsham.
“That tyranny of distance is a constant challenge for country athletes, but we have found this system produces good performance outcomes.”
Schueller said Victoria Country had an excellent pathway that included under-12 jamborees, under-14 regional academies, and elite camps leading into the Australian Country Cup and Southern Cross Challenge tournaments.
Four of the Bendigo NITP girls - Rennie, Anderson, Stibbe and Strawhorn - will play for Vic Country at the Country Cup in Wodonga all next week, while O’Toole will be in action at the Southern Cross event in Melbourne from January 16-19.
They are names to look out for as they aim to become the next generation of basketball stars to come out of this region.
JESSIE RENNIE
The 14-year-old forward and shooting guard plays club basketball for Generals and is a member of the Bendigo Braves under-16A and Vic Country under-16 Bushrangers squads.
She began playing competitive basketball after several seasons learning the ropes in the Aussie Hoops skills program under former Lady Braves legend Andrea Walsh.
Career highlights include being part of the first Vic Country team to win the Southern Cross Challenge in 2014, and playing in a premiership side with and against some of Australia’s best female basketballers in the Bendigo Women’s Championship League.
TAYLOR STIBBE
A former swimmer, Stibbe made a successful transition to the court in 2012 and was selected in her first Junior Braves under-16A squad after only a few months learning the ropes.
She is a tall forward/centre for Beavers, a Junior Braves under-18 training partner and will line up for the Vic Country under-18 Settlers at the Australian Country Cup carnival.
“I would love to be able to get a scholarship to America to play college basketball,” the 15-year-old says, “but playing for the Bendigo Lady Braves or Bendigo Spirit would be amazing as well.
ALEXANDRA STRAWHORN
Strawhorn is from Kyneton, where her dad is a junior representative squad coach.
She plays women’s A-grade in Bendigo for Beavers and is also in the Junior Braves and Vic Country Settlers under-18 squads.
She is an accomplished guard for her age, having been part of the Young Lady Braves in 2013 and playing 11 SEABL matches for the open-age Lady Braves last year.
Two years ago, she had a taste of international basketball when she toured the US with a Braves development squad.
Her goals include one day playing college ball in America or making it in the WNBA or WNBL.
“I want to play at the highest level I am capable of.”
LAURA ANDERSON
A point guard and small forward who travels from Swan Hill to play for Generals and the Junior Braves, 14-year-old Anderson has experienced almost every level of the high-performance basketball pathway available to her.
She has taken part in the under-12 Jamboree, represented Vic Country at both Country Cup and Southern Cross tournaments, played for Bendigo in the Victorian Junior Basketball League and been an emergency for the Vic Country side that contested last year’s Australian under-16 championships as a bottom-age player.
At next week’s Country Cup, she will tread the boards for the Vic Country under-16 Goldminers.
DANIELLE O’TOOLE
Just 13 and with only two years of basketball behind her, the wing-guard is one of the youngest members of the NITP squad.
O’Toole represented Victoria in netball when she was in primary school and also won a state shot put title, but now has her sights firmly on the basketball ring.
She plays domestic ball for Generals and is in the Junior Braves under-16A team and Vic Country under-15 squad for the Southern Cross Challenge.
She was also a member of the 2014 Junior Braves under-14 girls’ side that competed at the national club championships in Queensland in September.
O’Toole was the leading scorer overall at the championships, amassing 203 points from her eight games.
