Youth is winning in the Country Basketball League, as a team of teenagers find themselves in a dominant spot following round six.
The Melton Thoroughbreds’ women’s team boasts an average age of just 15, with their oldest player just 18-years-old.
The Thoroughbreds are currently sitting on six wins with their only loss coming in round two to ladder leaders Kyneton.
“The girls have really, really gelled,” coach Brad Dennis said.
“The one loss was just purely down to some inexperience and it was only three points.
“For their age, being an extremely young side coming up against pretty big bodied, experienced women that have been playing for years, it’s been really good for them.
“We took positives from that match, we didn’t focus on anything to do with the negatives, it was purely taking the positives out of that game.
“We pretty much led for all of that game except for the last three seconds so it was really good.”
Across the season the scoring for the Thoroughbreds has come from even contributions across the board, which is something that has pleased Dennis.
“It’s been a real positive,” he said.
“If there’s been someone that’s been a little bit quiet, others have stepped up to fulfil their roles.
“There have been girls that have been given particular roles throughout the team… for example Elle Price is only 15 and she’s been given defensive tasks and has been given some free reign on offence and she’s scored upwards of 30 points on a couple of occasions.
“She’s been really good but it’s been a contribution across the board.
“It’s been awesome what they’ve been able to do.”
Speaking before the weekend’s double header against the Mildura Heat and the Swan Hill Flyers, Dennis said the round five bye came at a good time.
“A couple of the girls have just got a few little niggles with them now getting onto their VJBL (Victorian Junior Basketball League) season as well and the extra sessions that come with that” he said.
“We’ve had girls miss training to attend their rep training which is a priority, so it’s going to be a tough weekend coming up.
“Mildura have got a few players into their squad after the first few games who are NBL1 calibre players, that play in South Australia, so it’ll be a tough one.”
With both games on the road and a long way away from Cobblebank Stadium, the challenge didn’t get easy for the Thoroughbreds.
“That’ll be a test, sitting on a bus for an extended period,” Dennis said.
“It’s also going to be 40 degrees on Saturday in Mildura, which we’re not really used to at the moment here.
“And it’s called the ‘Hotbox’ where the Heat play, that’s the stadium’s nickname.
“That’ll be tough, the assistant coaches and I will be off to grab some ice for ice baths after the game, to help aid their recovery.”
