Hoof Prints & Hoops - Ed.1

president4283
Jun 4
7 min read

Welcome to your weekly update on all things Ballan Brumbies Basketball Club.

FROM THE PRESIDENT.

Welcome to the very first edition of Hoof Prints and Hoops, our new weekly wrap-up of all things Ballan Brumbies! This newsletter will bring you the latest results, team highlights, important reminders, and club updates straight from the committee to your inbox.

We’ve kicked off the Winter 2025 season with great momentum, and grading is now complete. It’s fantastic to see so many of our teams moving up divisions, a reflection of the strength and depth we’re building across the club.

A special shoutout goes to our brand-new Under 8s team, coached by Steve Cassar — who many of you know from our Aussie Hoops program. After a few weeks of finding their feet, these young Brumbies secured their first win, defeating Excies 18 to 11! That’s a huge leap from averaging just 2 points in their first four games. What an achievement — well done to the boys and to Coach Steve!

Across the board, we’re proud to have 15 junior teams competing this season, with 5 in B Grade and 5 in C Grade. For a small community like Ballan, that’s a fantastic milestone. We’re committed to continuing our development programs so that all our teams — especially those in the lower divisions — have the opportunity to grow and climb the ranks in the seasons to come.

Here are just a few more highlights:

U10.1 Girls, coached by Ruby McLeod, dominated their grading games and are now making the leap from 8-foot to 10-foot rings. A big challenge, but these girls are more than ready!
12.1 Boys, under Joe Seketa, are undefeated with 5 wins and are sitting at the top of the B Grade ladder. Keep it up, team!
Max Besant, who led a team to a championship last season and also plays for our 16.1s, is proving to be one of our top junior coaches. While his current team, Boys U12.3, sits 8th, their last four games have been tight contests with losses by an average of just 7 points. Expect a strong finish from Max and his Boys.
One of our great young coaches is Amy O’Brien’s and her 14.1 Girls opened the season with a 30-point win and, while they’ve had some tough matchups since, they’re in great hands and poised for a strong second half of the season.

As we settle into the regular season, I encourage all players to focus on giving their best effort every game. Listen to your coaches, work hard on defence, and wear your Brumbies uniform with pride — win or lose.

On the senior side, we have four teams competing — three men’s and one women’s. Our Senior Women’s team is still chasing that first win, but they’re putting in solid efforts week after week and building momentum. Over in Men’s B3, a fierce (but friendly!) rivalry is brewing between Brumbies Blue and Brumbies White, who are currently 1st and 2nd on the ladder. White claimed bragging rights in their first head-to-head with a 7-point win — we’ll be watching that rematch closely!

Don’t forget to check the Weekly Scoreboard for all our Ballan Brumbies team’s latest results.

Off the court, we’re planning some exciting club events: a Trivia Night, Comedy Night, and of course our Winter Season Awards BBQ. A huge thank you to Ballan Butchers, who’ve come on board as a sponsor, supplying those delicious sausages and burgers we all look forward to.

We’re also working behind the scenes to organise training clinics with some top tier external basketball trainers, and development opportunities for both coaches and players. Stay tuned as there’s plenty in the pipeline.

Thanks to all players, coaches, parents, and volunteers for everything you do to keep the Brumbies stampeding forward.

Until next week... GO BRUMBIES!

THE WEEKLY SCOREBOARD

Teams (BOLD is winning team)	Score	Coaches Notes
ExciesAcmy U8 Boys Grey Ballan Brumbies Boys U8.1	11 18
Drummo Dragons U10 G.4 Ballan Brumbies Girls U10.1	12 19
Wildcats U12 B2 Ballan Brumbies Boys U12.1	37 46	"Whist we started the season off rusty, they have started to get better and better." Coach Joe Seketa
Phoenix Braves Ballan Brumbies Boys U12.2	27 61	"Played really well had some great communication was amazing loved the way they played" Coach Phoenix Dart
Phoenix Emperors Ballan Brumbies Boys 12.3	20 18	"Multiple stops on the fast breaks also Communication was next level." Coach Max Besant
Wildcats U12 G3 Ballan Brumbies Girls U12.1	8 28	"Won with 4 against the only other undefeated team. Strong Defence and great passing" Coach Peter O'Brien
Celtic Tigers U14 B.2 Ballan Brumbies Boys U14.1	60 44
ExciesAcmy U14 Boys 14.6 Ballan Brumbies Boys U14.2	23 59
Saints Mystics Ballan Brumbies Girls 14.1	31 22
ExciesAcmy U16 Boys 16.3 Ballan Brumbies Boys U16.1	35 43	"Game plan executed to near perfection. Strong defence transitioned to quick baskets." Coach James Tamanika
Saints Giants Ballan Brumbies Boys U16.2	56 47
Celtic Tigers U16 B.6 Ballan Brumbies Boys U16.3	29 32
Saints Vixens Ballan Brumbies Girls U16.1	21 29
Celtic Tigers U19 B.1 Ballan Brumbies Boys U19.1	36 60
Saints Bullets Ballan Brumbies Boys U19.2	40 38
Drummo Dragons Senior Women Ballan Brumbies Women	57 29
Wildcats White Ballan Brumbies Senior Mens Red	66 41
Phoenix Wanderers Ballan Brumbies Senior Mens Blue	40 47
Phoenix Dragons Ballan Brumbies Senior Mens White	21 42

FACILITY UPDATES

COURT CLEANING

Over the past few months, we’ve been working closely with Ballan Primary School to explore ways we can improve the court surface for our training sessions. The current floor condition has made things challenging, and both the school and the Brumbies Committee are committed to finding practical solutions.

BEFORE. AFTER A SWEEP. AFTER A SWEEP & WASH.

In the short term, we’ve stepped up our maintenance efforts by sweeping the surface weekly. A big thank you goes to David Parr, father of James Parr from our 14.2 team, who generously offered his time to inspect the school’s floor-cleaning machine and guide the committee on how to use it properly.

Thanks to David’s help, we’ll now begin a more thorough cleaning process over the coming weeks in an effort to restore the court’s original surface. Our aim is to create a cleaner, safer, and more effective space for our players to train and develop.

We’ll keep you updated as this work progresses.

REMINDERS

FIRST AID COURSE - New Date & Open to the Community

Due to low initial numbers, the First Aid Course has been rescheduled to Sunday, 27th July 2025. To make the most of this valuable opportunity, we’re now opening it up to other local sports clubs and the wider Ballan community. We believe it’s important that our coaches — and anyone working with our players — have basic first aid knowledge.

This course is also open to parents, guardians, and family members who wish to attend.

The Brumbies Committee has organised this course to support our club’s commitment to safety, and we’ll be subsidising the cost for all coaches under 18 years of age.

When: 27th of July 2025

Time: 9:30 to 12:30

Where: Basketball Gym, Ballan Primary School

What: General first aid along with CPR certification

For more information check the NEWS section on the home page of the StackTeam App. or click on the link below.

https://ballanbrumbies2021.teamapp.com/clubs/629521/articles/9142766-first-aid-course-moved-to-the-27th-of-july?_detail=v1&_expires_at=1754006399

COACHES CORNER

QUICK FIRE QUESTIONS WITH A BALLAN BRUMBIES COACH.

COACH: James Tamanika

TEAM: BOYS U16.1

BASKETBALL BACKGROUND:

Played since I was in U12's in Bendigo and Melbourne. Highlight was I was lucky enough to make an international touring team in 2019 to play in China against other touring teams and CBA teams. Been Coaching for 14 years and won 4x Domestic Championships and 1x VJBL Championship.

FAVORITE BASKETBALL TEAM:

1991-92 Michigan Wolverines - Idolised Chris Webber. They came close on 2 NCAA titles but really loved them black socks, AirForce Max's and baggy shorts.

FAVORITE BASKETBALL PLAYER:

Michael Jordan - GOAT.

FAVORITE DRILL:

Love a good 3 Man Weave. Teaches stamina, teamwork, passing at pace, running at pace, finishing at pace.

BASKETBALL PHILOSOPHY:

Be accountable for what you are good at doing and what your not good at doing,

Be disciplined for how you play and act on the court,

Be respectful to your team-mates, your coach, your opposition and your parents.

DRILL OF THE WEEK

BOXING OUT AND REBOUNDING.

Stage 1 - The Box Out.

Start by getting a ball and putting it on the floor in front of you (blue). Now have another player (yellow), or mum or dad, stand on the other side so you are between them and the ball. Now whilst looking at the ball, you have to keep the person from getting to the ball without turning around.

Your focus should be:

Staying in touch with the person behind you and feeling their movements left and right.
Keep a wide athletic stance and use you bum and body to keep the other player away from the ball.
Wide arms to protect the player from getting past.

Do this counting 3 seconds, stop, rest and do it again 5 more times.

Stage 2 - Adding in the Rebound Element.

Now we take the same drill as in stage 1 and we bring in a ring. If you don't have a ring, use a wall or any flat surface to throw the ball against.

Player 1 (yellow) will start with the ball and will throw it toward the ring/wall. As soon as they do Player 2 (blue) will use the box out technique that is in Stage 1 to keep Player 1 from getting to the ball.