Tara Murray
The next generation of female basketballers at Melton Basketball Association are showing they have to make it at the top level.
The club’s under-12 girls team has qualified for the Victorian Junior Basketball League Vic championship competition, the highest level in the state for that age group.
Thoroughbreds coaching director Fernando Rios-Rodriguez said they know they’ve had two teams under-12s girls teams make VC before, but there hadn’t been many teams in the history of the club make it that far.
“It’s a huge achievement for our girls program,” he said. “That’s where our focus has been for the association.
“Being able to have the under-12s achieve this we are really proud that we are starting to provide a pathway for girls in the junior program.”
Rios-Rodriguez said the early signs had been good for the team, showing that they can be competitive at this level, losing their round two match by just two points.
It backs up after being in the division 1 competition last season.
Rios-Rodriguez said that coach Nicole Palmers had made a massive impact in getting the girls to this level and they are very grateful to have such a passionate and dedicated coach in their VJBL program.
He said having the girls at this level only made other side’s in the club want to get better.
“The under-12 boys are in division 1,” he said. “There’s a good culture there and it gives the boys a challenge and something to look up to.”
Rios-Rodriguez said the club had been really focusing on making sure they had a pathway from under-12s all the way through to under-18s.
The under-12 girls have a buddy in the under-18 team as they try and build a really good culture.
Rios-Rodriguez said one of his biggest focuses as coaching director was to focus on the participation of females in the sport.
“We have 40 per cent more participation from males,” he said.
“We’ve got a Melton girls academy which gives them more court space and game development and more opportunities to see if basketball is for them.
“We’ve giving that program focus and investing in those girls.”
As well as working at a young level, the Thoroughbreds are keen to establish a successful senior program too.
The club had a team in the Country Basketball League competition for the first time last season.
Rios-Rodriguez said they were hoping to get under-20s and Big V youth league side back up next year, with the longer focus getting a women’s side back up and running.
