The Cooktown Salties U14 girls debuted at an away game in Port Douglas, giving them a clear direction for training as they aim for their first win. Photo: Supplied.
It was a “humbling” away game for the Cooktown Salties in Port Douglas earlier this month, but it has only fuelled the fire in the young basketballers as they shoot for their next big win.
After landslide 80-6 and 65-15 wins against Douglas Heat Basketball Club in March by the under-12 boys’ team, the Salties returned with two more teams as the sport continues to grow in popularity in the region.
Coach Dave Chung said the now-U14 boys’ team was disappointed after two losses on the latest road trip, but it was vital in helping them become stronger players as they reflected on what went wrong.
“Last game, they won by quite a bit, so I think it was quite humbling to have that loss,” he said.
“When we were driving down, they were saying they hope it’s harder competition than last time; it was really good to see they were tuned in and wanted a challenge.
“Talking to them afterwards, and doing the self-reflection, I kept reiterating that you’re only going to get better if you play better teams.”
The Salties also took an U16 boys’ team, which won one of two clashes, and, for the first time, a recently formed girls’ line-up.
Mr Chung said the club had been open to girls to play co-ed with the boys since the resurgence of basketball in Cooktown almost two years ago, but that there had been little interest.
“I’ve got children at the high school, and my daughter said there were girls playing basketball at lunchtime amongst themselves,” he said.
“We recognised that they might just not want to play with the boys, because at that age, they can be a bit rough and not have that awareness playing with girls.”
Three months since beginning training, the U14 girls took on their first official competition, taking home a fierce sense of direction and determination for their training.
“Because it was the first game, we just told the girls, we’re just wanting to know where the gaps are,” Mr Chung said.
“It’s a totally different playing style from schoolyard to actual competition; where schoolyard can get a bit showy and fun, competition is a bit more serious and needs a bit more use of communication.
“They lost both games, but you could see the girls enjoyed it, and took away a lot from that on what areas we need to concentrate on training to improve, so it’s only up from here.”
The coach said it was positive that more young athletes were finding their love for basketball, because the smaller team numbers required for basketball, compared to sports like rugby league and AFL, made the sport more sustainable in a remote community.
“I love my footy as well, but in a small community, team sports with smaller numbers, I think, is a good way to go to concentrate on kids being involved in team sports,” he said.
“I’m truly blessed to have the other coaches on the team as well, because we all have the same belief that a team sport is so beneficial for mental development in regards to communication and bettering yourself at school.”
Despite more losses than wins this time, the Cooktown Salties are fired up and hungry for victory after reflecting on points of improvement. Photo: Supplied.
