Belridge entered its inaugural Senior Boys Basketball team this year, after an extensive selection process, including nearly 60 students, 3 tryouts and some tough decisions. A squad of 12 was picked made up of Year 10, 11 and 12 students and we began preparing to enter the competitive Alkimos/Northern Beaches league, which included multiple state champions Woodvale, as well as Butler, Wanneroo, St Stephen's Carramar and Kinross.

Our first game against Butler was my first chance to see our team in action, and boy, was I impressed. For a team who had never played competitively together before, they displayed synergy and exciting teamwork. After being 20 points down with four minutes to go, the boys rallied to be only 3 points down with less than a minute on the clock. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to bridge the gap in time and ended up going down 39 to 45, but it was an exciting game and the boys fought bravely.

Tough games against Wanneroo and Kinross followed. Both ended in close wins. One of which was a nail-biting home win against Kinross, highlighted by a 3/4 court and one by Jack Lee in the dying seconds to secure the victory. Despite ending the game on a high, our attention quickly turned to our next opponent. The all-conquering Woodvale.

A win was always going to be tough, but my emphasis was on the boys having fun, and making the most of the opportunity to learn from arguably the best basketballers in the state. We ended up keeping Woodvale to their lowest score of the tournament, as well scoring the highest of any team against the basketball powerhouse. The Woodvale coach commented after the game that although he'd faced better players, Belridge was one of the better teams he'd encountered.
Then came our game against St Stephen's. Belridge's defining moment of the competition and our most memorable performance. Needing a minimum 20 point win to advance to the knockout stage, the boys put on a near-flawless display, dominating both ends of the court and notching an inspirational 35 point victory. We were through! I kept reiterating to the boys that anything after the group matches was a bonus. I was immensely proud of what they'd already achieved and the competition was going to get a lot harder from then on.

We played the first knockout round against Warwick at HBF Arena on June 18th. The boys played valiantly, but we were eliminated from the competition by a team I later learned featured 2 national and 2 state representatives.

I'd like to thank and congratulate our students for their dedication and sportsmanship over the last few months. I've enjoyed coaching the team and I'm truly thankful to be able to help our students pursue their sporting passions. There is a bright future for basketball at Belridge Secondary College.

2019 SSWA Senior Boys Basketball Squad

Patrick "Brick Wall" Bowyer
Ethan "Baller" Boyce
Jakob "Money" Buck
Jasper "Drive It Hard" Dawe
Jayson "Dimer" Dolzan
Jack "From Deep" Forrest
Jack "Lazer" Lee
Kyle "Prodigy" Podlich
Dylan "Skyscraper" Stewart
Jimmy "Split The D" Sullivan
Matt "Take It To The Hole" Taylor
Jarryd "Which Way Did He Go?!" Walsh
Coach - Jarrad "I'll Buy You Gatorade" Timu

Jarrod Timu
Health & Physical Education Teacher