Shoot those hoops: Tony's promoting Taupō basketball participation

BASKETBALL IS BOOMING: Lake Taupo Basketball Association has appointed Tony Strange to the position of community participation manager.

Basketball has gone crazy in Taupō.

In the lead-up to the 2020 basketball season, Lake Taupō Basketball Association has appointed Tony Strange to the new position of community participation manager. Seed funding for the position was made available through strategic partners Sport Waikato and Sport Bay of Plenty, with Taupō District Council a key partner for the venue hire.

Having played basketball professionally for 20 years in both New Zealand and Australia, Tony says it is now time to give back.

"I have made lifelong friends out of basketball. This is driving us to give the kids the experience and to create the pathways for gaining experience and skills in basketball.

"All around New Zealand basketball is the fastest-growing sport in secondary schools," says Tony.

One of the aims of his new role is to provide a pathway for Taupō kids who want to take the sport further and play at representative level. The club is aiming to put together teams to participate in the Mel Young Easter Classic in Tauranga.

"We also want to provide for kids who enjoy basketball and like being active."

This season Lake Taupō Basketball Association is expanding games to two nights per week at the Taupō Events Centre and is also introducing a new league for younger players in years 3 and 4 (ages eight and nine). The season is also extending to 19 weeks.

Tony says basketball in the Taupō district has got to the point where players are overwhelming the coaching, scoring, managing and refereeing resources available.

"We need help with the non-playing side of the game. We are hoping that players, parents and grandparents will be interested in coaching, refereeing, scoring."

Supporting coaches, referees and managers is critical, and Tony says he will be putting in place ongoing mentoring and learning systems. He says there will be plenty of opportunity for existing players to get involved in coaching or refereeing.

"We want to get the parents down from the balcony and onto the court. It is a far more exciting game viewed from the court. You don't see the intricacies of the game from the balcony."

The club is interested in attracting more female players so they can create more teams, particularly at intermediate and secondary school age level. Last year Tony coached the under 13 girls basketball team, and all but one were netball players.

"Initially they struggled with the physicality of it due to the contact rules in netball. In basketball you can get as close as you want, as long as you don't touch the other player. Plus you dribble the ball while you run. It's also kind of positionless. The girls needed to be empowered. Sometimes I would have to tell them to shoot the goal. They are not constrained to their position like netball. When they got it, the light went on!"

He says basketballers have something to learn from netballers.

"Netballers are such good passers."

Tony says that any kid that wants to play basketball will be put in a team.

* Find out more on the Lake Taupō Basketball Association's Facebook page.