The Byford basketball under 12 team – who play domestically under 14 due to their excelled skills – played in the Winter Classic against Western Australia Basketball League (WABL) teams over the weekend.
Up against teams who regularly train, the local Byford boys competed after only four training sessions, making it to the event’s semifinal round with a loss of only two points.
Team coach and club vice president Jenna Zeck said she submitted the team to the Winter Classic to challenge them and push them up against strong teams.
“The last time Byford went into the Winter Classic, they actually got beaten by quite a lot,” she said.
“The other teams are all WABL, and we don’t have the facilities to house WABL and because we share only two courts with netball and futsal, we don’t have the court space.
“Because our team is so developed we thought we’d give them a run in the Winter Classic to see how they went. It could’ve gone really bad, but they were incredible.
“It was such a proud moment for all of us to see what talent we had locally, but then also on the other hand it was really deflating because we don’t have what we need to be able to grow the teams.”
Mrs Zeck said it was hard to know how the team would’ve played out against representative basketball teams in WABL because there was a lack of opportunities in the Byford area, despite there being masses of athletic talent.
“We don’t have the opportunity for WABL, so now these kids who want to do this can’t,” she said.
“We’ve got the skill down at Byford, but we don’t have the courts, and we don’t have the resources to be able to successfully run WABL and have this type of opportunity.
“Were losing kids to other venues and other areas because they are wanting to step up their basketball and we can’t offer that at the moment.
“We need these courts because of how talented our kids at Byford actually are, and it’s a shame that we don’t have the opportunity to give the WABL experience to them.
“That’s why we chose to put this team in the Winter Classic.”
The coaches and club members volunteer their time to try and help the local kids in Byford, but they’re wanting to push for more opportunities which would mean bigger local teams, less commuting time for families, and it will put Byford on the map for sporting talent.
“It’s not just this team I coach. We have so many kids that are at a high level of skills so if we had WABL here it would be fantastic,” Mrs Zeck said.
“I believe if we had the right courts and the opportunity to have WABL, it would bring back a lot of kids we have lost through not having the facilities and the opportunities to be able to play at the higher levels.
“For all of us to be at the Winter Classic and watch these kids absolutely dominate and now we don’t know what to do.
“They have full potential to take their basketball to all types of levels, but we don’t have the facilities or the resources.
“We’re still behind and Byford resources haven’t grown with the population. They’re building houses left, right and center but they’re not extending the facilities to accommodate the numbers.”
The same boys’ team will also go through to the State Championships to see how they play against many other teams from around WA, with a rebranding in the works to get the Byford Bucks name out to the public, with hopes to finally be recognised as a WABL provider.
