Twenty-seven boys and 13 girls in the under-14 and under-15 age group from the Greater Shepparton area were invited to be a part of the academy.
The program is aimed at developing regional Victoria’s best young basketball prospects through camps, training and high-level coaching.
Shepparton Gators senior coach and director of coaching for Greater Shepparton Basketball Association Josh Waight said it was great to see such a high number of Shepparton players in the academy.
“It’s awesome,” he said.
“They train once a week in Shepp, then they have their two camps throughout the 20-week program, which is really good for the kids to be able to access different coaches who can give them different feedback about their basketball.
“It’s really important that they are able to access these types of programs to really develop their skills and take their game to another level while getting some really high-quality coaching from around the region.”
2024 Boys Future Development Program Country Academy (Greater Shepparton players)
Logan Arnold, Nethum Atukorala, Tyler Betson, Griffin Boote, Dahnell Bowden, Harry Campbell, Lev Curtis, Jett Davis, Baxter Gray, Taylor Hamill, Chace Hueston, Caspar Leunig, Blake Manning, Finn Melville, Tiere Morrison, Jaxon Oldfield, Timilehin Olukoju, Urijah Saxton, Sahibdil Sidhu, Eppo Sloots, Chase Spence, Rylan Stephens, Campbell Telford, Ryder Thomson, Harry Watson, Hudson Woods, Nate Young
2024 Girls Future Development Program Country Academy (Greater Shepparton players)
Bethan Burton, Chloe Carkeek, Abby Damianopoulis, Annaliese Gray, Tameka Heenan, Elosie Hudgson, Maddison King, Violet Miers, Lidija Nedelkovski, Ruby Pickles, Chloe Quarrell, Macey Tomkins, Tully Watson
Basketball in Shepparton has recently received an emotional boost, with the senior Shepparton Gators side returning to the state’s top division, the Big V Championship, for the first time in 20 years.
With the senior Gators in the best position it has been in for the past two decades, Waight will be hoping this fresh batch of junior basketballers can gain the development they need through this program to keep Shepparton basketball thriving for years to come.
“The process is they try out at the under-14s skills day and then they are chosen from that day to be a part of the Future Development Program.
“They have two academy camps from the north-east region and then from the second camp they select a few athletes to go to Golden Nugget, which is another camp.
“They have access to some shooting programs and the ability to grow their game and take their game to another level.”
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