Posted on 27 June, 2009

SEBC Saints Player Profile

Brett Capuano (21) has been a player with the SEBC Saints for the past 13 years. He started playing with SEBC at the age of six in one of their miniball teams and has played every since. Brett is now in the final season of juniors playing with the Under 21 (A) Boys.

As well as playing, Brett has coached younger Saints teams and was a referee for many years. He has already made the progression to the Senior domestic competition and will continue to play the sport with his mates.

Brett’s most memorable moment came in under 16’s when his team was able to win the 16B-1 Grand Final. “The team was a great group of mates and we came up from C grade and were able to win the Grand Final,” he said.

This win was under the guidance of a coach who made an impression with Brett, Terry Seltham, “Terry was a great coach, she was very influential for us all and helped us win quiet a few Grand Finals.”

Having been with the SEBC Saints for his entire basketball playing life Brett had nothing but praise for the club volunteers behind the scenes. “The Saints are a really great club, they provide development opportunities, introductory clinics and are very well organised,” he said.

Long time Saints volunteer Jackie Lee commended Brett on his involvement, “Not only has Brett been a Saints player all his life but he is always willing to assist with junior teams or anything else the club needs. We hope he will continue his involvement once he finishing playing in the Junior domestic competition.”

For information on joining the Saints visit www.sebcsaints.com.au

MLBC Lakers Volunteer Profile

Darren Edmondson has been President of the Mt Lilydale Lakers Basketball Club for the past four years. His leadership during this time has helped the Club grow from 22 to 35 teams, a size he says is ideal for the committee to manage.

At well as serving as President he also coaches the 14A and 16B girls teams while following his own daughters who play in the domestic and Cobras programs.

MLBC caters predominately for children within the Lilydale area with school such as St Patricks, Lilydale PS, Lilydale West PS and St Marys holding strong links with the Club.

Darren overseas over 100 volunteers and 10 committee members who work together to provide opportunities for kids to play basketball. “MLBC has been successful due to the work of our wonderful volunteers and the family friendly atmosphere they help to create,” said Edmondson.

“We aim to have 2-3 teams per age group and this season we have had A grade teams for the first time, this has been great for the Club,” he said.

As Darren highlights volunteers are not just the key to keeping clubs going but there are benefits for those individuals that assist, “Being involved in a committee teaches you a lot, from the business of running the Club to working with groups of passionate people with different interests and ideas.”

MLBC Lakers have teams for boys and girls in all age groups from Under 7’s & 8’s miniball to Under21’s. We are committed in creating an atmosphere where enjoyment and sportsmanship are paramount. We are a family friendly club, not about size, rather about making great friends and develop their basketball skills in a fun environment. We aim to make basketball affordable and available to all players. At the end of each year we celebrate the clubs success with a presentation day with many fun games and activities for kids and parents.

Mt Evelyn Coach Profile

Anthony Stephens, aged 26, has been coaching with the Mt Evelyn Meteors for 13 years. After playing with the Club as a junior he made the transition into coaching and now enjoys helping improve the junior players in the family oriented Club.

The Mt Evelyn Meteors are one of 14 junior clubs participating in the Kilsyth and Mountain District Basketball Association competitions. The Association conducts over 40 competitions in which clubs enter teams from Under 7 to 21 Boys and Girls.

Anthony is currently coaching the Under 16 and 21 Girls for Mt Evelyn and has coached 2-3 teams per season since he began coaching with the Meteors.

Despite not having aspirations to coach at the higher levels Anthony just hopes his players are able to learn something about the game. The thing he enjoys most about coaching is the job satisfaction, “when players hard work, learn and work together they can achieve great results,” he says.

Anthony has been successful in getting his players to work hard with many memorable grand finals to his name including last season in Under 21 girls. “We managed to win against the team we couldn’t beat all year,” he said.

Anthony like so many others involved with junior domestic Clubs has been a long time member of the Mt Evelyn Meteors and was asked what was the secret to their success.

In Anthonys words, “The secret to Mt Evelyn’s success is the Club adopts a family oriented approach where all players are treated equally.  Roger Bland provides outstanding leadership as Club President and all the volunteer administrators do an unbelievable job.”

Club President Roger Bland had nothing but praise for Anthony, “He is a very positive and proactive coach who never says no to coach a team. He has been with the Club as a player and coach all his life and is well liked around the place,” he said.

Mt  Evelyn  Meteors  welcomes  new  members  (boys  and girls) from  Mt Evelyn  and  from  surrounding  areas.  We cater for players of all skill levels.

For more details visit www.mtevelynmeteors.com.au