GREAT TEAM: Declan Burt, Taylar Kingston, Coen Armstrong and Madeline Herrick at the Moruya Basketball Stadium on Wednesday.
IT WAS the opportunity of a lifetime when four young basketballers representing both Moruya and Batemans Bay basketball associations spent four days in Albury at the annual Great Murray Basketball Jamboree two weeks ago.
Madeline Herrick, Taylar Kingston, Coen Armstrong and Declan Burt were selected along with the cream of under 12 basketballers from country Victoria, NSW, ACT and New Zealand.
More than 200 players, coaches, officials and
parents took part in the event. The jamboree did not pool players together from their region but assigned players to teams based on their position to build social skills.
The tournament finished off a great year for all four of these talented young players. Taylar, a member of the successful Moruya under 12 representative team, was also selected
earlier this year to represent the South Coast at the NSW Schools Championships in Broken Hill.
Madeline, also a member of Moruya under 12 girls' rep team, was named Most Valuable Player in the Division Two grand final at the Country Championships in Wollongong.
Declan, officially a player for the Batemans Bay Basketball Association, also represented Moruya in the under 12s boys' team at the Country Championships in Wollongong.
Coen, whose family has temporarily moved to Queensland, was selected to represent the Wide Bay region at the Queensland State schools tournament in Townsville, and more recently the under 14 Northside Wizards representative team, which plays in the Brisbane competition.
Kylie Armstrong, who instigated Moruya Basketball's representative program five years ago, was impressed with the players' performances at the Jamboree.
"The kids were all in great form at the tournament and proved that our Moruya players are matching it with the best," she said.
"Their skills matched any players there and this reflects the fantastic junior program which has developed at Moruya.
"I think Moruya's high achievements in such a short time are the combination of various factors. A team of qualified and passionate coaches, a well-organised and competitive domestic competition, a dedicated group of parents and simply a great bunch of kids willing to have a go."
Moruya Basketball's dozens of talented players in the 2005 representative season will be looking forward to more exceptional achievements for teams and individual players.