Sabresmagazine2007 web

YEARBOOK 2007

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Contents Sabres Spirit - A message from the President ABA Womens Review ABA Mens Review ABA Players Review Head of Coaching George Williams - I believe he can fly..

VBL Men VBL Women Boys Program Girls Program Girls U12 - 1 Great Expectations Girls U12 - 2 Ready, steady.. grow Girls U12 - 3 Best of mates Girls U12 - 4 Passionate Pals Shootathon 07 Boys U12 - 1 VC and proud of it!

Boys U12 - 2 Roller coaster ride!

Boys U12 - 3 Ready to learn Boys U12 - 4 Basketball nuts!

Dandenong Tournament Thirsty Work Girls U14 - 1 Top of their crop!

Girls U14 - 2 Basketball in their blood Grils U14 - 3 Stand up & be counted Girls U14 - 4 A season of two halves Girls U14 - 5 Stand together Boys U14 - 1 Ready for the big time Boys U14 - 2 Great friends & good times Boys U14 - 3 These boys are ready Boys U14 - 4 The future is theirs Boys U14 - 5 Hard work and good fun Boys U14 - 6 Basketball newcomers Free throws U14 East Coast Road Trip Girts U16 - 1 Up to the challenge Girls U16 - 2 Quite a journey for all Girls U16 - 3 Tried and true Girls U16 - 4 Ready for anything Girls U16 - 5 We have come a long way Time Out Boys U16 - 1 Talent and attitude Boys U16 - 2 Selfless team players Boys U16 - 3 Time to step up Boys U16 - 4 Destiny awaits Boys U16 - 5 Consistent team efforts Boys U16 - 6 Lessons for life Nunawading Tournament Girls U18 - 1 One tough season Girls U18 - 2 Take the challenge Coaches Boys U18 - 1 Hard fought success Boys U18 - 2 Dig deep and hang tough Boys U18 - 3 Tenacity and commitment Sabres is fun!!!

Floor wipers Boys U20 - 1 A final charge Referees Plenty of action Signatures

2 4 6 8 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 22 23 24 25 26 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 50 51 52 53 54 55 56 58 59 60 61 62 63 65 66 67 68 69 70

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Sabres Spirit

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After the success of last year’s Sabres yearbook, we thought we would do it again. But this time a little bigger and a little better!

Some faces change, many remain the same, but the pride and love we all show for the orange and blue remains the same in each and every one of us. It is what continues to push our Association forward and allows us to achieve success. It may not always bring a championship but

success cannot always be measured in that way. It may be a successful jump shot or defensive play, brought together by hours on the practice court. This yearbook is a celebration and an example of the success every Sabres player has had in one way or another throughout the year. As always these things don’t magically create themselves. Thanks as always to the tireless efforts of those behind the scenes who are there every week, often without fanfare but always with

our thanks and gratitude. It is their ‘can do’ attitude that exemplifies the Sabres spirit and makes our Association a success.

Go Sabres!

Steven Lunardon President SBA

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Season Review: 2007 Women Sabres Big V Team The make up of this year’s Sabres team was vastly different to last season. Returning from 2006 were Tegan Fowler, Alex Lough, Natalie Burke, Talita Haddad, Michaela Davis and Sarah Fraser - Jones.

New faces included Alison Downie (Dandenong WNBL), Therese Arnott (Waverley), Amy Quick (University of Portland) and from the VBL team Alice Hammond, Katie Harris and Beth Howard. It was a mixture of new and old, youth and experience, and a very exciting group to work with.

I was asked recently how to best describe our season. Immediately the image of a rollercoaster ride came to mind. We were all excited about the upcoming season but a little anxious as well, given the massive change in personnel from last year. We started the season slowly working upwards on a big learning curve. We then experienced some highs and lows, some bumps and curves but always staying on the right track. The team started to gather momentum for the run home (9-1 record) and finished with a huge adrenalin rush, winning the final 2 games, in the final weekend, to secure fourth on the ladder and a spot in the semi finals. A loss in game 2 of the semis saw our sea-

son come to an abrupt end and we were left wondering what we had just been through.

Tegan Fowler again put in an MVP season leading the team in both points scored and rebounds. Alex Lough had her best season yet in the orange and blue and really evolved in her role as co captain and leader.

Therese Arnott had to make a big adjustment to her style of game coming into the Sabres program and you could see this transformation happen weekly. Alison Downie brought athleticism and experience to the team. It was no coincidence that the teams’ performance picked up when Sarah Fraser- Jones returned from college. Sarah brings not only her defensive nous but also an intensity and passion for the game that is second to none.

Alice Hammond made the transition from VBL to ABA with ease and did the many little things that aren’t on the stat sheet but do not go unnoticed by the coaching staff. Amy Quick is the ultimate team player.

She worked at improving her game both as an individual and her role within the team, always with a smile on her face and a positive attitude Talita Haddad again took strides this

year and made the most of the opportunities as they presented themselves. Nat Burke worked very hard to get herself in great shape and it certainly paid off. She was quicker and stronger than in previous years and was injury free. Michaela Davis continued to work hard and never faltered with her commitment to the team. Kate Harris and Beth Howard were valued members of the squad, working hard at trainings, which showed in their skills development and confidence on the court.

Our challenge was to be united, positive, tight, accountable, tough and leaders and the team can be proud that they achieved this. Thank you to everyone that supported us throughout the season. Thanks also to Vince Crivelli for his advice, support and friendship and to the executive committee for making it possible for us to continue to put a team on the court that is not only competitive but continually trying to be the most professional, the most visionary and most successful team and program in the Big V competition.

ABA Women’s Head Coach Lori Chizik

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Season Review: 2007 Men Sabres Big V Team The Sabres Men’s team enjoyed a successful season that culminated in a 2-0 series loss in the Grand Final to the Dandenong Rangers. After a slow start to the season which saw the Sabres drop their opening game, the team recovered beautifully to finish the regular season tied for first with a 17-3 record.

Entering the playoffs on the back of some strong wins over the likes of Dandenong, Warrnambool and Hume City, the Sabres were always going to be a chance to take out the title. However, they ran into a very strong Rangers team who were simply too good.

Some individual highlights of the year included new recruit Simon Conn’s MVP calibre season, where he averaged 23.9ppg at 57% and 11.1rpg. Conn was dominant all year and will likely take home the MVP award at the annual Big V

awards dinner. Import George Williams improved with every game throughout the season, and finished with averages of 19.5ppg and 12.2rpg. Williams was a fan favorite with his athleticism and huge ‘afro’ haircut.

Adam Quick averaged 16.8ppg for the season, which included some three pointers that went in from the parking lot; Luke Neilson had a strong year after getting the nod as the starting shooting guard, while David Moore, Mark Whitehead and Craig White were also strong contributors throughout the year.

Another highlight during the season was the signing of young NBL star Joe Ingles, who played a total of 11 games for the Sabres and showed the crowd glimpses of why he is rated as the next big thing in Australian basketball. We all wish him well for the up coming NBL season.

It was also fantastic to have welcomed Patrick Bolger, Chris Giosis and Michael Yiallis up from the Youth League team.

With time, effort and a solid off-season, potentially all three of these players will become permanent fixtures in our senior team.

In all, the season was another success for the Men’s team, and although it didn’t end with championship glory there were positive aspects to take from everyone on the team. After a solid preseason next year, we can look forward to a bigger and better year from the mighty Sabres!

ABA Head Coach Vince Crivelli

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ABA PLAYERS 2007 8

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Head of Coaching It’s hard to believe it has been twelve months since I took on the role of Director of Junior Coaching for the Sabres…. seems like only yesterday. So as finals begin and each team’s respective seasons draw to conclusion, it’s as good a time as any to reflect on the past twelve months so we can look forward to building for the future.

This year saw a record number of junior players try-out for the Sabres. Not only were the hardwoods of Tulip St occupied by hundreds of current Sabre representatives but hundreds of new and excitable faces wanting to don the blue and orange. In what could easily have been a very trying and difficult period, the coaches, assistant coaches, boys and girls, head coaches and a plethora of helpful volunteer staff pulled together to operate an “almost slick” production.

Season 2007 has seen both the boys and girls programs flourish with record representation at Victorian Championship level and far greater results and participation in the Metro Leagues. It is a great sign for the club when the Metro Leagues are achieving strong results as it indicates a thriving bottom age group as well as top

age players improving to the point of future championship representation.

The past twelve months has also seen some exclusive to Sabres clinics provided by coaching luminaries such as NBL Championship Coach Al Westover, SEABL championship coach Mark Landells and Big V Championship coach Vince Crivelli.

The varied topics and insight provided by each guest were of great benefit to all in attendance and important to future development of our Sabres coaching staff. We have also been fortunate to see the arrival of skills coach Clark James. Clark’s enthusiasm, knowledge and presence has lit a fire under Sunday mornings training sessions at the King Club as he runs our juniors through rigorous skill drills.

To all of the coaches and assistant coaches of the club I thank you for your contributions to your respective teams. We have a marvellous group of coaches with some future guns complimenting some old stagers. I urge you all to continue with the good work and keep looking for ways to improve yourself and your team.

and Head Girls Coach Michael Burke.

Their knowledge of the club, the players and the people has made my introduction to the Sabres very smooth. Their commitment and work ethic is second to none and without them we would not be where we are as a club. From scheduling training sessions, to recruiting coaches, to taking time out from their own teams to help with others……their list of duties is endless and often thankless. But I thank you and look forward to working alongside you again next year!

Finally, I would like to thank the clubs oak tree…..Judy Barlow. You have been of great support for me this year (as you are for everyone) and I don’t know how any of us would function without you.

Simon Mitchell Director of Coaching

I would personally like to thank the efforts of our Head Boys Coach Shane Tobin

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I believe he can fly....

George Williams III George Williams brought to the Sabres that Texan magic that made fans stand up and cheer.

Unbelievable antics above the rim made even opposition fans applaud with excitement. When he slammed the ball home it stayed slammed!

George helped the Sabres mens team to make the finals and drew plenty of attention from opposi-

tion big men. His rebounding was spectacular with his vertical leap taking him well above the boards and helping the Sabres transition game with quick fire passing.

Always willing to help with any Sabres function George became a friend to all and will be sadly missed when he returns home.

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VBL Men 2007 saw a new fresh look to the Youth League men’s team with only two players returning from the previous year.

A number of the guys moving to the Championship squad and others retiring meant that there were opportunities for the younger players. Shannon Davey and Ben Theodore were joined by those players leaving the junior ranks in Matt Turner and Ryan Doyle. The current under 20’s made up the bulk of the squad with Gavin Tonkin, Neal Mueller, Bevan Camilleri, Israel Jones, and Sam Wilsmore. James McKinnon. Michael Theodoridis, Mitch Watts and Josh Wilcher from the under 18”s made up the balance of the squad. Injuries and other commitments including State team duties saw Ben, Sam, Israel and Josh only play limited games during the course of the season but we welcomed Michael Nowlan and Bo Westover into the team when they returned from school in the United States. Chris Giosis, Pat Bolger and Michael Yialis also helped us out when they didn’t have championship commitments. A total of twenty players took the floor for us throughout the season and all acquitted themselves well and showed that they have the potential to make the step to senior basketball Shane Tobin was there as my assistant coach and we were supported by both Andrea Camilleri and Ken Tonkin as joint

Team Managers. The Taylors and their support staff of parents always ensured that the after match function at Sandringham was the best in Youth League.

ed at various stages by all players with Michael Theodoridis, Chris Taylor and Bo Westover having some high scoring games.

The season started with a first up game against a strong Knox team and we were off to a nervous start. Knox got the jump on us and even though we recovered the first game nerves had done the damage.

The future for these guys looks bright and the experiences gained this season makes for an exciting and promising 2008. Something to definitely look forward to.

The following weeks saw us playing some good basketball with some wins coming our way and unfortunately some close ones not going our way resulting in losses. Inconsistency throughout games often saw us being in a winning position only to let the other team back in the game or being down and fighting back and having the game in the balance in the last minutes of the game.

Finally I would like to thank all those that make it possible to put a team on the floor, the Committee of Management, junior coaches that keep delivering the young talent to come through to senior ranks, scorers, stats people, the video operators and finally Nola McKinnon for running the game nights Gavin Meager Youth League Men’s Head Coach

We were still in the race for the finals going into the last weekend of the regular season and unfortunately results did not go our way, resulting in an 8th Place finish Shannon Davey led the team well not only as captain but also out on the floor with a double / double average for the season. He was support-

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VBL Women The girls started this year with great enthusiasm and to their credit they kept that enthusiasm through the whole year. We started the season hoping to improve on last year.

Lauren Cooper was able to suit up again this season, and her class was evident with Lauren leading the team in scoring, rebounding and blocked shots. She also recorded a double double on 4 occasions.

Other notable performances this season were Shelly Keating, second in scoring and leading our 3 point shooting. Katie Harris in her second season with the youth team

along with Bethany Howard in her first season were both selected in the senior women’s squad - a great effort by both girls.

bone putting an end to her season.

This meant that we were now a very small team. To the girls credit they never gave up.

One of the biggest highlights of the year was the introduction of Arly Hocking into the team. As an athlete playing in the under 16’s she showed she has got what it takes to play at this level and has a bright future a head of her.

On a personal note I would like to thank all the girls for their efforts this season. It was a long and difficult year and I appreciate all the efforts given by each and every one. Thanks to Brian Fitzgerald for helping out at each game, you have been a big help.

Our year did not pan out quite the way we had hoped, with injuries taking their toll. In a game against Waverley we ended up with Lauren straining her ankle ligaments and Sarah Telling breaking her collar

Alan Evans.

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Boys program Looking to the future...

As one season is about to end, another will start shortly, giving coaches, athletes and parents little time to reflect on yet another busy year at Sandringham .

Some people look at programs in terms of how many teams make VC, or how they went in the highest available grade .

I would prefer to look at the overall picture, and that way you see the real strength of our program .

Not only are our VC teams competitive, but the 2nd & 3rd tier teams are also doing extremely well .

Our bottom age teams whilst doing it tough, are developing and preparin, waiting to step up and play against their own age .

It is interesting to also see individual players stepping up taking more responsibility, accepting a challenge, filling the big shoes of the so called star player ahead of them.

It’s about a challenge, It’s about the future!

has made giant strides over the last 7 years and is in a very healthy state. I’m just lucky to be a small part of it .

Athletes now have a chance to live and love the game, show their potential and know they have a pathway to their dreams Shane Tobin Junior Boys Coordinator

With Sandringham now being run from top to bottom as a complete organisation, everybody feels a part of it, the club

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Girls program By way of comparison, when I first did the job of girls coaching co-ordinator in the late 1980s, the Sandringham Basketball Association was running seven girls’ teams with all teams training once a week and playing out of the old Albert Park stadium, some on Saturday nights.

We now run 16 girls’ teams who all train twice a week and play in stadiums across Victoria. This expansion is the result of the fine work done by a number of co-ordinators including my predecessor Craig White. I was fortunate to take over a very well planned and organised program with strong coaches in all age groups and a healthy mix of top and bottom aged players.

This year’s program commenced in October, 2006, with 4 (almost) completely new groups and 12 returning groups. I would like to particularly thank Mick McGuire, Jim Kendall, Linda Morewood and Claire Mackie (half new), and their team managers, for negotiating their players and parents through the initiation into Friday night travel.

We were particularly successful during the grading season, with representatives in the top grade (VC) in all four age groups, as well as having all four Under 12 teams and three Under 14 and 16 teams in the Metropolitan Competitions. In addition, the mix of bottom and top age players in our teams has meant that we are well prepared for next season’s grading.

I’ll let individual team coaches and managers document their successes and stories. I will mention that at the stage of writing it appears that both the Under 14 and 16 Victorian Championship teams, and several other Metropolitan and Eastern Qualifying Teams will make the finals. Also, teams that did so well in grading to make a competition that was possibly above them have continued to improve throughout the season against bigger and stronger opponents. I’d like to mention the performances of Jess Kaufman in being named an emergency on the Under 16 Victorian State team, and Kathryn Quinn and Maxine Allan on making it to the final cut for the Victorian Primary Schools Basketball team.

At the same time, I’d like to congratulate all our players on their continued commitment, improvement, sportspersonship, good humour and friendship. Our players carry themselves magnificently both as athletes and as people. I’d also like to thank Judy Barlow and Nola McKinnon for their tireless work (I wonder if we can con them into doing it again), Simon Mitchell for his program co-ordination and willingness to help out whenever I ask, Shane Tobin for his knowledge and help, and all the coaches, team managers and parents who contribute to making this a memorable experience for the players.

Michael Burke Junior Girls Coordinator

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U12 Girls-1

Great Expectations!

The U12-1 Girls started the season well making VC prior to Christmas, however the season proper has been an up and down affair resulting in the girls missing the finals.

We were unfortunate to loose Hilary the week before the Nunawading Tournament with a broken arm so we were down to 8 players for the 2nd half of the season.

The main highlight of the season was when the girls won the U12 A Grade Nunawading Tournament. We played 7 games over 2 days, and we finished 2nd 12 5 24 9 8 4 22 10 42

in our pool after our 7 draw games to go through to the grand final against Melbourne Tigers who were our only loss during the preliminary games. (in our VC game a couple of weeks prior we actually drew with Melbourne). The game started with Melbourne getting a little start on us; after a quick time out called

by Glen the girls regrouped. There were only a couple of baskets in it for the whole game – the girls were showing their potential playing like a team. Amanda and Eliza were rebounding well, Emily was keeping Charlotte No 6 quiet as she had carved us up the game prior, Laura G

made some great fast break lay-ups, Rachael and Zoe made some great interceptions, Natasha played some great defence and Laura S came up with the winning goal with less than 20 secs to go and the girls held on to win 23 to 21 – giving us parents several chest pains during that last 20 seconds!!

Well done girls, a big thank you to Glen for all his efforts during the season.

Amanda Bateman Hilary Collett Eliza Collister Rachael Fairhurst Zoe Farrell Laura Garside Laura Stewart Emily Suckling Natasha Warden

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U12 Girls-2 The Under 12-2 Sabres girls team was made up of Taryn Hurst, Jamie Bolger, Lucy Burke, Sophie Noone, Rachel Fairhurst, Tara Scott, Hannah Thomas, Maddie Williams and Sarah Gordon, and was coached by Lauren Cooper. The girls commenced the grading season in the VC pool and we had to play against some ‘monsters’ during the first three weeks; I think that some of these players needed to be ‘swabbed’. The girls fought hard and eventually were graded into Metro One. The ‘monsters’ weren’t quite as big and there weren’t as many, but they were still much bigger than us.

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Ready, steady ..grow!

Two of our girls were bottom age and one double bottom age, so this was a good effort. Unfortunately, one of our bigs, Tara Scott, broke her ankle and was unavailable for most of the season. However, she continued to attend home games and cheer, and will return taller than ever next season. The girls battled on and won a few games during the season. What was indisputable was that the side improved significantly!

when we didn’t win. Our last month of the season has resulted in a win, a draw and a couple of close losses.

If only the season went longer. Our highlight was to win the B division at the Dandenong Tournament. Our lowlight, other than missing Tara, was 8.00 training on Sunday mornings. In all, an enjoyable season that resulted in improvement for all players.

There were several comments from parents of opposing sides about how much the team had improved, even

Jamie Bolger Lucy Burke Sarah Gordon Tarryn Hurst Sophie Noone RachaelSargent TaraScott Hannah Thomas Maddie Williams

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Best of mates!

U12 Girls-3

The under12-3 team started as a group of five Sabres newcomers and one experienced player, entrusted to Mick McGuire, to form a representative team. We started as the fourth team, but before our first game Mick found a few extra gun players to add to our team, which produced successful outcomes resulting in the team being promoted to the third under 12’s.

During grading, Mick found another two excellent additional players, and the team numbers became 10! We were Sabres newbie’s, blindly doing as we were told, not sure of what the focus or outcome would be. The girls did brilliantly during grading; only losing the last game to another Sabres side, the twos, in a play off for Metro 1 and 2. Now we were starting to understand our purpose!

Before getting into the main competition, the girls headed to the Dandenong comp. To make things interesting, our guide and mentor on our journey, Mick, failed to make it through our first game before succumbing to a ruptured appendix. We were extremely fortunate to have Will Schubert on hand to step in mid game, and to step in as coach for the rest of the competition.

The girls outperformed themselves in the

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circumstances and became runners up in their first competition.

8 Alicia Dillon - GIGGLES, an excellent point guard

The season has had it’s ups and downs with a few injuries; so far though the girls are on track to make the finals. Before then we have had another great competition performing extremely well in making the finals at the Nunawading tournament, once again making the finals, however losing out again, this time by only one point. The girls really bonded over the course of the tournaments, and real team camaraderie was formed. There was recognition and reward for the team when Paris Drummond was awarded player of the finals.

21 Shannon Schubert - SHA SHA, craziest hair do’s and fabulous morale booster

In all, this season has been an extremely successful year, with many players proving themselves to be champions of the future. The best results though have been seeing the girls learn about the love of being in a team, the love of basketball and of course for the SABRES. Our future basketball stars are: 4 Paris Drummond-the captain, with the great stats of 17ppg over the last 22 games. Just don’t get her angry or she turns into the HULK.

32 Yiana Pandelis - our entertainment director 40 Melissa D’Elia - MISSY, double handed shooter 41 Laney Callahan - LALA,the dancer 43 Tiffany Klonaris - AIR TIFF 50 Ashlee Brazier - ASH, knockout Ninja 51 Sarah Marsden - SARE BEAR, jumpshot princess 54 Tea Dodic - ROCKY, because she shows great fighting courage COACH MICK MCGUIRE alias AUSTIN POWERS. Well done girls, it has been great to be part of your journey.

Sheona Callahan

Ashlee Brazier Laney Callahan Melissa D'Elia Alicia Dillon Teodora Dodic Paris Drummond Tiffany Klonaris Sarah Marsden Yiana Pandelis Shannon Schubert

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U12 Girls-4 44 31 25 33 21 15 13 35 34 23

Felicity Baird Stephanie Chris Fleur Goodman Isabelle Hore Amy Kay Emma Kellock Ruby Neave Emma Vincan Julia Wyszomirska Shaesan Foreman-Sim

The season started very promisingly and after all grading phases we qualified for Metro Division F o u r.

After looking at t h e other teams that had qualified for this division we knew we were in for a tough years competition. The competition included Waverley 1, and 5 number two sides filled with many top aged girls. In light of this, the girls have competed well and learnt a lot throughout the year.

We started the year well, winning four out of our first five games. But gradually the girls have been overwhelmed by older and taller opposition. The main area that led to us losing many close games was our inability to shoot and convert under pressure. Having said this, the girls were competitive in all but a few games. Their enthusiasm to learn and apply their defensive skills throughout the season was excellent. They have developed as individual players enormously and as a team showed the ability to apply skills to game situations even under extreme pressure. As a coach, it was very pleasing to see the girls able to put in motion drills that they had only recently learnt.

Amy Kay – Amy always made training lots of fun and during games showed a fierce determination to do her best. Her ability to rebound against larger players and her ability to concentrate and make the right decisions in games has improved a lot over the year.

Emma Kellock – After breaking her arm early

Passionate pals!

in the season, Emma came back into the side and added a calming and steady influence to the team on game nights when we were under pressure. She showed her dedication by continuing training even with a plaster cast on her arm.

Emma Vincan – Emma’s enthusiasm and willingness to listen and try her best in all situations added greatly to the teams overall performance. Her skills have improved greatly over the year and in the second half of the year became an important scoring option.

Felicity Baird – Felicity was a late comer to the team after her family re-located from Warrambool. Her athleticism and ability to score against bigger opponents was always a feature of her play. She quickly fitted in with the team and formed a strong friendship with all the girls due to her likable nature.

Fleur Goodman – Her tenacity especially in defense quickly led to her being given the nickname ‘Bulldog’. Her never-say-die attitude no matter how big the opposition was, made her play centimetres taller than what she was. She often led our teams defense through her energetic example.

Isabelle Hore – Izzy has improved throughout the season especially in the area of decision making under pressure. She always gave 110% in all situations and this made the team more competitive against some of the tougher opposition. Her bright smile was always her trade mark whether at training or games.

Julia Wyszomirska – Julia was our main rebounder and her efforts to defend much older and taller opposition improved greatly throughout the season. She also improved her ability to score important baskets for the team. Julia was a pleasure to coach be-

cause of her willingness to always listen and give of her best in games.

Ruby Neave – Ruby never ceased to amaze me with her ability to smile no matter what the circumstances in a game, which always lifted the spirits of her team members. Her improvements in skills and ability to keep her balance was very pleasing and her enthusiastic approach always added to the teams efforts in games.

Shaesan Foreman-Sim – Shae was an important avenue to score as her quiet determination and ability to keep a cool head under pressure enabled her to take the right shot and find the right pass for the team. Shae was a joy to coach as she was able to fill any role that she was given and added a calming influence to the team.

Stephanie Chris – Stephanie is a very athletic young girl who always gave of her best in all situations and she is beginning to develop her ability to make the right decisions at the right time. Her skills have improved greatly throughout the season. Stephanie has always been a supportive team member and her friendly personality makes her an attribute to the team.

Big thanks to Angela Goodman for the tireless efforts as Team Manager which made my job as Coach so much easier. Thank you to all the parents for all the kilometres traveled, for without them the girls could not participate. Thank you for your friendship and support throughout the season. I wish all the girls the best for the future at Sabres.

Jim Kendall Coach YEARBOOK 2007

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Shootathon 2007 The annual Shootathon was held on Sunday 27th May. Thanks to the efforts of so many of our dedicated young athletes we have raised over $5000 GIRLS PROGRAM - MOST MONEY RAISED: Maddie Payne 16-4 Girls BOYS PROGRAM - MOST MONEY RAISED: Zlatan Radakovic 16-5 Boys TEAM THAT RAISED THE MOST MONEY: U12-1 BOYS

SHOOTOUT HEAT WINNERS: U12 Laura Stewart U14 Darcy Gordon U16 Jackson Hollands U18 Nathan Geer A final competition between these 4 athletes and a few other juniors who performed well at the shootout was conducted during ABA Grand Final to determine Sandringham Sabres representative at the South Dragons 3-point-shootout to be held during the 2007/2008 NBL season

Congratulations to Maddie Payne. We look forward to supporting Maddie in this event.

The Shootathon was well attended by special guests Joe Ingles, David Barlow, Simon Conn, Adam Quick and a host of other NBL and ABA coming down to watch the action!

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VC & proud of it!

U12 Boys-1

Wow, what a season was had by the boys. We started the season on very shaky legs. As time progressed Jamie and Paul worked with the boys to improve each of their skills and qualify for VC - a huge achievement. During the season we gained another player with some extra height to help with the size of some of the kids in Under 12 VC. During the year we attended the Nunawading Tournament and finished third. A great effort by the boys only having a bye to miss out on the finals and one loss.

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Great weekend was had by all and a lot more talent came out during this time.

Thank you to all of the parents who have helped me throughout the season with bench work and other team management roles, each taking their turns. Thank you.

Assistant Coach – Paul Geer Sandra Howorth Team Manager

All the best for the remainder of the season, and good luck to the boys staying in Under 12’s and the others heading up to Under 14’s.

Coach – Jamie Treasure

Dylan Atkins Harley Balic Jordan Geer Jordan Howorth Jack Munro Adam Nohel Lachlan Peters James Prosser Nicholas Shepherd Mitch Foss

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10/9/07 12:00:12 PM

U12 Boys-2

It seems so long ago that these 12-2 Boys were like babies stepping onto the court for the first time, especially the courts outside Sandringham where we had to travel long distances to find names of places we had not heard of.

I finally had all my team of boys playing together on the last game before Christmas. We had gone through several changes and had a late addition to the team to ensure we had the numbers to play.

Our new parents were learning as we went, including our dynamic duo team managers Maree & Sandra. Some seasoned parents helped where they could to keep this team on a roll through grading phase.

Roller coaster ride!

The boys became a tight unit through grading phase and kept us on a roller coaster ride, just missing out on qualifying for Metro 1.The boys were fast picking up new skills and words during their training sessions. To help them along, key words were given and continued throughout the season. ‘Muscles’ was the first player named (Stefan Dodic) and later ‘Backboard Joe’ (Joseph Callaghan )and so now we have, ‘Left Hand Damo’ (Damien Walsh), ‘Bigstep Jack’ (Jack Prosser) ‘Gadget’ (Allister Moffatt) recently renamed from ‘Spider’, ‘No Fouls Conar’ (Conar MacLeod), ‘Use Your Height Tom (Tom O’Riley), ‘Have a Shot Matt’ (Matthew Abella)and our final player of this wonderful team, ‘Drive in Dan’.(Daniel Aarsman)

We are going into our last game of the season to bring home a win.

This win will qualify us for finals and will give the boys experience and memories to tell others down the track. I think the parents are the ones more likely to remember and I will try to keep them from becoming too excited. I believe this years quote is “try to keep a lid on it”. We will see!

It’s hard to believe that these young basketballers have probably played 30, plus games in the last 10 months It has been an enjoyable journey to see these young players meet the challenges of each Friday night.

Thanks team for the fun times and memories of this season. I would like to thank all the parents for their support and wish them all the best in the future with their sons. See you round the courts, Coach out!

Michael Mullan

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Matthew Abela Daniel Aarsman Joseph Callaghan Stefan Dodic Conar Macleod Allister Moffatt Tom O'Riley JackProsser Damien Walsh

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YEARBOOK 2007

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10/9/07 12:00:28 PM

U12 Boys-3 For Will, Lachlan, Hamish, Mackenzie, Joel, Pierce, David, Caspar, Rory and Edward this was their first experience of life as a Sabre and what a great season they have enjoyed. Thanks to Coach Ben for his enthusiasm, good humour and encouragement and to all the par9 23 13 15 50 21 11 43 6

Ready to learn ents for many tolerant and supportive hours spent touring the outer suburbs.

Good luck to all the boys for continued success in basketball.

Hamish Bignell Casper Bjarnason Joel Constable Pierce Duffy Edward Ellis David Faulkner Mackenzie Homann Rory Lawrence Lachlan Lemons

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10/9/07 12:00:39 PM

U12 Boys-4 What a season. A bunch of rag-tag basketball nuts overflowing with enthusiasm, a bit short on substance well, that’s how it started. This fresh blood, a pride of Sabres, was the raw material ready to be shaped by coach Dave.

What must he have thought when this pride of 8, 9 and 10 year old egos gathered around him that first training session? I think that he can now look to those boys with some pride of his own.

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Basketball nuts!

During the course of the season Dave has seen each boy produce outstanding results. The base skills and core plays have grown steadily. The passes hitting their mark and the free throw percentage climb steadily. All those training sessions do pay off.

We have enjoyed the camaraderie of the boys, applauding and encouraging each other. They’re a great group of boys who have developed friendships while laughing and playing together.

The team has also benefited from a vocal and active support team of parents. Some of us have now learned a bit more about basketball but are still happy to share some of our ignorance of the game with referees e.g. “foul ref!”.

What a season!

Tom Burley Johnny Deppe Edvard Hakansson Nicholas Hewett Max Mason Nicholas Raydan Henry Thompson Oliver Wilde Alexander Zenin Stefan Zizik

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10/9/07 12:00:48 PM

Dandenong Tournament

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10/9/07 12:01:00 PM

YEARBOOK 2007

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10/9/07 12:01:21 PM

Thirsty Work

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10/9/07 12:01:32 PM

U14 Girls-1 Preseason/grading went to plan, making VC in the first round.

The season started well, but then to Coach Natalie’s shock, we started to lose to weaker teams, only by a few points but no points on the ladder for a loss.

To Natalie’s credit she pulled the girls together and they fought their way into 4th place on the ladder, only losing to the top team by 4 points.

Unfortunately Alex Langridge was unable to finish the season due to illness. We wish her a speedy recovery.

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Top of their crop!

All of the girl’s wonderful parents have participated and supported the team, which was a big ask as it is the first season using the shot clock for most of them - well done & thankyou.

All the girls went on the NSW Road Trip thanks once again to Shane Tobin, and all the fundraising efforts.

Four’ of our teams wonderful parents also joined them on the trip - Jenny Bateman, Carol Allen, Tim Rieniets & Richard Smart. I think they all had a fantastic time and......played some basketball.

This is the business end of the season. Finals are about to start!

The girls have worked hard and are looking very strong and confident.

Thanks to Natalie and Bianca for all their time and effort and Michael Burke’s assistance, the team is ready for finals.

Go Sabres!

Coach Natalie Burke Assistant Coach Bianca White

Maxine Allan Courtney Bateman Katie Bluzer Jacqui Dalzotto Alexandra Langridge Eleanor Rieniets Emma Runnalls Georgia Smart Sarah Thompson

YEARBOOK 2007

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10/9/07 12:01:42 PM

Basketball in their blood

U14 Girls-2

After the try outs came the grading phase, our girls were in VC pool and playing with the shot clock for the first time. We slowly progressed to the stage of playing off for Metro 1 or 2, and, to the girls credit we qualified for Metro 1. Our team was made up of 5 top age girls and 5 bottom age girls under the instructions of Coach Dana Klas.

The girls played in both the Australia Day & Queens Birthday tournaments. We were runners up in the Australia Day, and narrowly missed out on finals in the Nunawading tournament in a three way tie.

It has been a busy season for our girls, especially the top age, with the Road trip to NSW in the July School holidays an experience of a lifetime. Well done Dana and girls on a great year, with the team bonding really well and the parents being there week in and week out supporting the team.

The girls played an extremely strong season of basketball. They worked and fought hard to reach Metro 1, a competition that proved to be a quite a difficult challenge. Each week brought a new goal which the girls seemed to grasp relatively quickly. The work ethics that the team chose to train and play by were a credit to each of them. They learnt how to look out for one another and consistently astonished myself and parents with their kindness and good spirits towards each other. They found the way to play like a team - with each player needing to perform different roles to contribute towards a great game.

It was when we beat Ringwood at the tournament and afterwards nearly every single member of team brought some sort of treat to share. There was quite a large variety of sweets, and was my first courtside picnic.

Dana Klas – Coach.

Sabres can certainly feel great pride in this team of growing basketball stars.

Also I would like to mention my most memorable moment:

Sandra Mirams – Team Manager

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Madeleine Bourke Phoebe Goodman Kate Hore Chloe Mirams Matilda O'Brien Kathryn Quinn Olivia Rugg Isabella Say Georgia Tonkin Alex Walton

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10/9/07 12:01:54 PM

U14 Girls-3 12 31 13 50 23 10 20 21 14

Katie Blair Stephanie Collins Eliane Davrain Hilary Dodd Tilly Gillan Sammy Kale Elyse Kiploks Sophie Lynch Brittney O'Donnell

Stand up & be counted The 2007 season has been a great year for this mix of top and bottom age players. It has been an incredibly even team all season with players stepping up to star in different games. It has been simply impossible to decide who will t o p score on any given Friday night.

The girls started their seas o n with

a strong pregrading focus on fitness/fitness and more fitness under their specialist preseason coaches Mickie and Lachlan. This included sessions away from the courts at ovals, the King Club gym and the Beach!

Post grading they found themselves in Metro 4 but temporarily coachless and thanks must go to both Michael Burke and Simon Mitchell who were generous with their time and passion to help shape this team. By May, our Coach

Ryan Heggart appeared and started to mould the team into a more cohesive and competitive unit. Earlier in the season the girls were often intimidated by physically bigger and stronger teams but they have learnt that speed, skill and trust in your teammates will often prevail. Special thanks also to Bridget Last and Hayley Dillon who both helped to cover games during the year.

Go Sabres Mel Kale Team Manager

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10/9/07 12:02:09 PM

U14 Girls-4 The 14-4 team is a mixture of 6 girls who played under 12 rep together and 3 top age 1st year Sabres girls. After the extensive grading season the girls qualified for section 1 in the Eastern Qualifying by winning about 50% of their games.

The season began well with a number of convincing wins. As the year wore on the team lost its rhythm and slipped down the ladder although most of the losses were by less than 5 points. Improvement was evident in the second half of the season with some good team work returning a few wins against higher ranked teams.

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A season of two halves During the season the girls bonded well as a team and each player developed in their role. Bec Tomasello and Alim Cherkez gave the team much needed support inside the key, Alex Deppe, Lauren Hulse, Jemma Lawrence and Siobhan Jaspers were a formidable forward group and Kim Myer, Megan Tucker and Meg Ragauskas provided reliable ball handing and attacking skills as the teams guards

The team is surprisingly even in ability with no player consistently dominating matches. In fact, almost every girl has had at least one exceptional game during the season. Under coach, Eddie Ragauskas, the team has become one of the best defensive outfits in the division but they are still mastering the club’s structured offence.

Alim Cherkez Alexandra Deppe Lauren Hulse Siobhan Jaspers Jemma Lawrence Kim Myer Meg Ragauskas Rebecca Tomasello Megan Tucker

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10/9/07 12:02:17 PM

U14 Girls-5 51 31 5 55 45 34 9 24 22 23

Emily Kay Emily Lambden- Grant Lili Morwood Grace O'Neill Amelia Perkins Zara- Jane Phillips Alice Rogers Olivia Rudich Nichola Tulley Grace Watts

Stand together

Under the excellent guidance of new coach Linda Morwood, the U14-5 Girls team (Lili, Alice, Nicky, Grace W, Olivia, Zara, Amelia, Emily and Grace O) have stamped their uniqueness on the 2007 Sabres program.

10 girls started the 2007 season with excitement and enthusiasm. After grading into EQ the team undertook game night with a sense of direction and challenge. Memories of games

do not lie with what happened on the scoreboard but how the team demonstrated their individual and team skills. Running transition, how do I play post/wing/guard? What am I good at and what do I need to work at? Homework was done enthusiastically and team bonding given top priority. Midway through the season saw the team focus on bonding. Their reputation started to build

around the club showing support at Youth League and ABA games, disciplined play at training and encouragement of each other. Luna Park was a highlight for bonding as were early team dinners before late games. At season end this team is looking forward to tryouts and a new season.

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10/9/07 12:02:29 PM

U14 Boys-1 8 7 45 6 35 34 31 21 32 14

Ready for the big time

Neil Belza Nick Hirons Lachlan Howes Tim Jeans Jarrod Miller Zak Pantelis Dallas Sather Brenton Schubert Harry Sumpter Zdenek Hostalek

Season 2007, a top age year for our boys and what a year they have had, with a proud bunch of mums and dads looking on.

Our group was extremely fortunate to lock in Coach Tobin and Assistant Coach Lori Chizik for a 1 year contract and if nothing else, you know the kids are going to get exposed to all sorts of challenges both from an individual point of view and also as a team. Let me say there has been some Malthouse like tactics along the way. There was one game where we had 3 time outs in a row in the last 30 seconds or so. Tobes had everyone guessing what was going on including Lori, all players, the opposition coaches and parents alike. That’s just Shane!

Our kids, along with many other Sabre teams, traveled to South Australia to tackle the likes of Sturt etc. Unfortunately the author of this was not present but all believe it was a real turning point for the team, amassing many close and exciting victories to gain a place in the Grand Final and ultimately return to Melbourne victorious.

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(Footnote) Apparently the Big “Z” Man talked all the way there and all the way back, you’d think he’d chill now and then??? Good onya “Z” you’re the kind of character that can bring a team to life.

And what’s a season with Shane without having a go at the Classic? Finishing 7th overall it was a tough competition but every player did their very best.

We must pause a moment and extend a big thank you to all the parents who have willingly supported our cause by opening their houses for team meetings and video nights, scoring, taking stats, extraordinary training sessions (thanks Shane) and helping each other with car pooling for those long treks to the outreaches of Melbourne and beyond and last but not least the tireless efforts from Team Manager Carol/Water Girl.

Thanks must also be extended to everyone who helped make our Road Trip into ACT and NSW such an exciting one. I don’t know who had more fun, the players, or coaches and helpers, or the two bald guys, handsome but bald. The trip was made so memorable from billeting and long bus rides to seeing the camaraderie amongst the two boy’s teams and the combined girl’s team. Everyone was so well behaved and I’m sure they will all remember that trip for some time to come. Oh, the basketball was also fabu-

lous. Each team competed exceedingly well and many comments were overheard from the host team coaches and parents who commended our Sabres kids on behavior, skill and the like.

I’ve been so fortunate to have been with this team for 3 years now and to see how each player has developed is a tribute to a fine program and I hope it can continue to gather momentum into 2008. Congratulations to everyone associated with a fine group of young players.

“Our stars/season highlights” - Dallas’ string of 3 pointers to keep us going in the Adelaide championships, Brenton’s never say die attitude, Harry’s athleticism, Zdenek’s composure for a first year player, Tim Jeans who is just the coolest customer, Mr Neil Belza’s incredible drives to the hoop, Jazza’s rebounding and hard running, Nick’s style, composure & leadership, the Zakman, another of our 3 point shooters and Lach who can hold his own anywhere.

At seasons end, we finished 2nd only to our arch rival Knox. At the time of writing we are due to face Werribee. C’mon Sabres, we can do it!

From the desktop of the Water-Girls apprentice…

10/9/07 12:02:42 PM

U14 Boys-2 34 5 53 15 20 24 30 50 8 4

Mitchell Barber Tate Crampton James Dalzotto Alex Dent Rhys Dunstan Kyle McDonagh Lachlan Mirams Alex Shulman Uros Veljovic James Watterson

Good friends & good times We had a team of 10 players this year including 7 from the 2006 U14-4 East 3 Team also coached by Gary Thoburne.

Alex Dent & James Dalzotto were named joint captains.

The boys started off the grading games in good form, winning most games and playing well.

In the new year they had some close losses and this continued throughout the season. They were unable to string wins together in what started out as a fairly even competition.

As we didn’t play the January & June tournaments the boys were really looking forward to the Annual Road Trip in July.

Tom & Jerome coached the boys on the Road Trip & they had a good rapport with the team. They played some good basketball, won all their games and also caught up with one of their 2006 team members, Finn Neaves, in Gosford.

The boys had a great time and had lots of fun and ate a lot of pizza! They all came back exhausted with lots of new friends, new girlfriends and plenty of stories to tell!!!

Tom also supported the team at training sessions and at games upon their return before he flew back to Pennsylvania.

The boys have been great in their attendance at training and games, their play and sportsmanship. Families have also been supportive throughout the season particularly with the road trip fundraising and social events.

Ben Wilde joined our training sessions and we thank him for his participation and friendship.

The boys have all brought something to the team with Alju3 pointers & controlling the play Shulman- strong play and drives to the basket Tater/ Yank- slick left hand passes and drives

Lach-

great presenting and rebounds Rhysdrives and taking charges Kyledrives and lay-ups Uros3 point magic!

Mr Dgreat ball skills & steals Mitch- rebounds and strong hands Wattogreat individual efforts It has been an enjoyable season and the boys have learnt about the highs and lows of sport.

Thanks to Dejan Veljovic for assisting with stats and Shane Tobin for organising the Road Trip and giving our boys the opportunity to experience such a fantastic trip.

Finally to Gary, Coach, a big thank you for your time and efforts. Gary has coached most of the boys for two seasons and has developed a real bond and friendship with the team and their families.

YEARBOOK 2007

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10/9/07 12:02:55 PM

U14 Boys-3

These boys are ready

The bottom age U14-3 team has battled hard throughout the season in Metro 4 with mixed results. The team consisting of Karl Amon, Matt Burke , Nicholas Dullard, Haayu Genemo, Dino Hadziomerovic, Keelan Hartnett, Alex Lemons, Nathan Ng and James Rieniets was coached by Michael Burke with Ron Lemons assisting. The team lost one of our starting 5 tall players Lachy Howes mid-season up to the V.C. team so this affected the team but also gave some boys more opportunity to improve.

Apart from the season proper the team also competed in the Holiday Tourna5 7 44 13 41 9 25 35 32

ments with great results. In the Australia Day week-end we won the final against Sturt Sabres and in the Queens Birthday week-end we finished third, only beaten by 2 points against a Dandenong top – age team. Michael has implemented the new Sabres offensive plays and the boys have taken it in their stride to work as hard as they can to improve and to find the required results. Battling against most teams with top-age boys has been tough but we all agree this will hold the boys in good stead for the next season.

Many thanks must go to Michael who has passed on his vast basketball knowl-

edge and to Ron Lemons who filled in to coach when Michael was unavailable.

Best of luck next season and keep working hard to be your best.

Katrina Amon Team Manager

Go Sabres!

Karl Amon Matthew Burke Nicholas Dullard Haayu Genemo Dino Hadziomerovic Keelan Hartnett Alex Lemons Nathan Ng James Rieniets

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10/9/07 12:03:09 PM

U14 Boys-4 Firstly, I would like to congratulate the guys on a fantastic season and for making the finals.

Our goal at the start of the year was to improve each week, as well as enjoy our basketball. From a coaching point of view it was great to watch each player develop their individual talents and use their skills to contribute to the team

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The future is theirs As well as being a very talented basketball group, the attitude throughout the year was fantastic, and made my job very easy

I wish all the guys the best for their careers Chris Giosis Coach

Big thanks to Olga for being team manager and for getting everyone through the busy season. Big thanks also to the wonderful group of parents I had for their efforts and support of the team this season

Tom Allen Jarrod Eastwood Blair Lourdes Reid Oswald Nathan Papatsanis Ashley Solomons Harrison Stewart Mitchell Swabey Ben Wilde YEARBOOK 2007

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10/9/07 12:03:22 PM

U14 Boys-5

Hard work and good fun

Win, lose or draw the Under 14 –5 boys have had a memorable season (all bottom age players with most still yet to turn 12); with winning the under 14 C Australia Day competition, making it through to the under 14 East 3 finals, but most of all the friendships that have been made and cemented, not just between the players but with the parents also. Most teams lose the odd player over the long hard year; we gained one, so hence we finished the year with 11 great players.

The development of the boys throughout the season, under the watchful eye of Coach Leckie, has been a pleasure to watch. With a simple bribe of lollies, the boys would appear to hang off his every word (except perhaps Braden who can be forgiven for switching off now and again to his father’s “ravings”). Each player has brought something to the team, ensuring that every player was greatly valued, and the personalities of each resulted in lots of laughs and enjoyment throughout the whole season.

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James “Dasher” Kellock – whose coverage of the court & passing often left those watching breathless.

Matt “Attack” Tolj – equally comfortable in attack or defence, has had a great season.

Jason “Boomer” Boland – slots those shots in, and has spent the season growing as tall as the ring.

Luke “3 pointer” Farrington – liked to show how it’s done & regularly brings along his own fan club with one new addition this year.

Kristian “Boomerang” Bjarnason – who at great expense went on a world recruitment drive to the USA & Denmark, as he couldn’t find anyone better decided to return back to play.

Tristan “slot it in” Sather – very quickly proving himself to be a valuable member of the team with a very keen eye and great ball skills.

Braden “Dynamo” Leckie – he is proof that size doesn’t matter as he grinned his way around the court with exciting bursts of speed.

Josh “everywhere at once” Kelly – can steal a ball and shoot a basket before the opposition realize he has taken it away from them.

Alex “the tower” Giuliano – has improved markedly over the season and now can rebound against the best of them and provides a solid defence.

Angus “I’m going to have a great game” Dunn – usually did, showing great defence often against much much taller opponents.

Zac “the rubber man” Hooper – always going in hard for the ball, time & time again showed his ability to throw himself against the wall or floor trying to get the ball, always able to bounce up again.

None of this would have been possible without a great deal of time & effort from coach Ian Leckie, who has really helped to inspire the boys. Also a big thanks to Pat Boland as assistant coach and Steve Hooper as team manager - without you guys it would not have been possible.

By One of the Parents

Kristian Bjarnason Jason Boland Angus Dunn Luke Farrington Alexander Guiliano Zac Hooper James Kellock Joshua Kelly Braden Leckie Matthew Tolj

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10/9/07 12:03:32 PM

U14 Boys-6

Basketball newcomers

With 10 boys, a Coach and Team Manager that had never represented the Sabres before, it has been a huge learning curve for all of us. After an initial easy win, the grading phase of the season was tough for us as we constantly played older more experienced teams.

But by the start of the season proper we were beginning to get it together, and of course were playing teams more similar to us. Everything looked great until our MVP Darcy Gordon broke his arm playing domestic. This was tough as he had been our ball handler and play maker, but it gave other boys the opportunity to take on more responsibility, and ultimately

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has made us a stronger team. We also were able to draft in Lachie Cox from our training squad to give us another ball handler.

We realised early in the season we needed to focus on defence, and figure out how to play our transition under full court press.

The pressure in Rep basketball really was a big step up from domestic competition. As the season progressed we spent more training time on offence, including the Shuffle drill and setting screens. It was great to train with the 5th team.

Jarrod, Liam, Ahri and Ben) all played their roles well, trained and tried hard, and improved heaps through the season. But most importantly, we improved as a team.

At the time of writing this, we look almost certain to finish 4th and be heading into the finals, which the whole team should be very proud of.

A big thanks to Geoff Mantell our Team Manager (and Assistant Coach), and all of the parents for their support, assistance and yelling.

Brett Lindstrom

Our talls (Harry, Mitch, Tim and Tom) and our guards (Darcy G, Darcy L,

Ahri Burstin Lauchie Cox Ben De Nardis Harry Doidge Thomas Ellison Darcy Gordon Darcy Lindstrom Jarrod Mantell Timothy O'Donovan Mitchell Thompson Liam Timms YEARBOOK 2007

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10/9/07 12:03:50 PM

Free Throws 40

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10/9/07 12:04:07 PM

YEARBOOK 2007

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10/9/07 12:04:22 PM

U14 East Coast Road Trip And the team leaves sunny Sandringham Not… Anyway, on the buses we get and full of excitement (that’s just the parents) after Vince’s motivational speech and away we go.

After a night staying in Albury, the boys at the Stadium and the girls at the Dalzotto’s, the troops left around 9.30am on a very wet and cold day. First stop, Gundagai, where the dog sits on the tucker box (it’s still there Gary, sorry) amongst rain and hail, for some salad rolls and a photo opportunity, then on to Canberra for a 6.30pm start at Radford college, with both the girls and boys teams for Canberra being represented at the nationals.

Wollongong – here we come!

After a cold night in Canberra (does the sun shine here???) the parents and girls rose to a freezing morning but ready for the next part of our trip. The boys, collected from the stadium at 8.30am after their overnight billets, were full of stories from the overnight adopted families. For any/all the concerns people may have had with billeting, the experience, friendships and home styled accommodation brought raving reports from all the boys.

Oh Oh, who said the bus wouldn’t break down???

Well, the story of day 4 is that the girls bus broke down 30 minutes south of Sydney.

No, we are not joking, A cough from the engine and she just conked out leaving our girls stranded for a few hours. Luckily the scout vehicle (KEEEEE-Yuh!) wasn’t too far away and rendered assistance.

A while later Richard had another bus arranged and towing for the sick one.

Onward to Newcastle went the girls arriving safe and sound but with the delay had their game re-scheduled for Sunday morning.

Sunday, and whilst all you at home are sleeping in, the kids, coaches and entourage are up and about for breakfast and a 9am game for each of the sides.

We arrive in Gosford And after Shane keeps assuring us that the weather will be fine and that we are entering a beautiful part of the world, we keep looking out our windows and seeing black clouds, rain and its freezing up here! So who packed the Melbourne weather???

Boys rest day, girls to provide the show today!

After the boys arrive back from their billets mid morning, they settle into the camp and are allocated their rooms.

Unfortunately, the weather is still not as warm as we’d hoped but the boys are determined to have a swim, thank god for heated pools!

Boys, your time has come, 1 more then finished!

Tuesday morning is greeted with many sleep ins. The boys each have a game today but not until 4pm and the girls are finished, so there is no hurry. With the tribe having had a late night of fun, it was time to recharge so the boys could finish with one last hurrah.

Wednesday morning is greeted with many sore heads after a few late nights, 7 days of B’ball and sitting in buses. No more basketball (Thank God!) but we are now a long way from home with the trip home starting today. After 7 days together, its now really pleasing to see all of our young athletes mingling well and seeing who’s on which bus to start the journey.

Game day, then Gosford

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10/9/07 12:04:28 PM

U16 Girls-1 Energetic, exciting, loud, talkative and challenging are all words to describe this team. They are also extremely talented, hard working and determined.

The 2007 under 16-1 girls are as good as any junior girls team Sandringham has ever produced and along the way we proved that we are as potent and as talented as any team in the country.

After challenging tournaments at Dandenong and Adelaide, the girls really turned it on at the Classic and

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Up to the challenge fell just 2 points short of a semi-final birth, ending the weekend ranked sixth with a 4-2 record.

They also made the VC finals but sadly were beaten in the first round by a red hot opponent. Throughout the season there was no shortage of fun and something to laugh about; there will be a list of “remember when’s” as long as your arm but most importantly, the girls put in a fantastic year and should be very proud of their performances.

The support of the parents was also outstanding and in particular Maree and Andrew for their hard work as Team Managers.

Good luck to all the girls for the future, some are playing on and some are moving on but all will no doubt be successful. It’s sad to see it end but it’s certainly a time we won’t forget and we’ve been lucky enough to make friendships that will last a lifetime.

Craig White

Katrina Bateman Vana Dimu Sophie Durnan Joanna Hawley Jess Kaufman Ellie Lemons Jordan Riddell Danielle Royal Meg Stewart YEARBOOK 2007

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10/9/07 12:04:45 PM

U16 Girls-2

Quite a journey for all

After a somewhat shaky start and some very narrow losses during grading the girls qualified for the Metro 2 pool narrowly missing out on Metro 1. The girls in this team are Tina (4), Margot (8), Luci (9), Arly (13), Jay (15), Sarah (22), Dani (23), Sam (24) and Abbey (50).

Brett Pearce is the coach for this lively bunch of girls, and Jan Hocking fill in coach and advisor in the absence of Brett. Special thanks also goes to Alex Thompson, who played all the grading and cross over games plus the Eltham/ Dandenong tournament with the team, before moving to Timbertop at Mansfield, for school this year. Alex also made herself available and has played for us whenever she was back in Melbourne and for this we thank her.

Prior to the commencement of the season proper the girls won the Eltham/ Dandenong tournament, thanks to Jan Hocking who steered the girls to this momentous win in Brett’s absence. We then knew exactly what these girls were capable of when they put their minds to it!!

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Throughout the season I think there have only been two games where the entire team have played together. We have been short through illness, injury and a couple have been lucky enough to have ventured off overseas during the season. However with all this Brett has steered the girls to second position on the ladder. This competition is very even and on any given night any team can beat any other team no matter their position on the ladder.

We have had some eventful car trips to some far away venues, enjoyed tales of Jans’ amazing dreams on our way, (if only they were to come true!!!!!!!!!!) listened to the crazy ravings of the girls, and I do mean crazy, who have had us in stitches. We have had a couple of wrong turns on our way to and from some of those far off places, (but we always get there in the end), and then there is the amazing trip from Waverley to Sandringham via Kew!!!! We won’t discuss that one any further though!!!! Brett has shared his car trips with most of the team (surprised he is not grey by now!!), and

he is amazed yet somewhat disturbed by some parents fascination with white goods and what they contain.

Our final game for the season was won last night, what a game!!! The three point shot for the season goes to Sam with a couple of seconds to go Sam flings the ball from half court and it goes in on the siren. You really had to be there to see it and believe it. Hopefully the girls can continue their great form and finish the season with the Premiership they deserve.

Thank you to Brett, Jan and all the parents for all your help and support throughout the season, and thank you girls for being such a great team to manage.

A special thank you to Judy Barlow whose extremely organised, calm and rational nature makes the job of a team manager so much easier.

GO GIRLS, GO SABRES!!!!!!!!!!!

Jay Atkins Tina Dreher Samantha Flipo Arly Hocking Luci Johnson Margot Lee Sarah Southward Abbey Tonkin Danielle Watts

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PB

U16 Girls-3 Once again our girls in 16-3 experienced highs and lows very early in the season. We narrowly missed out on a Metro spot after a third of our girls went down with serious long term injuries. New players brought new and interesting dynamics to our team, and the players settled into the competition with a string of wins which resulted in us being at the top of the table.

We stumbled in the latter part of the season. This brought a series of losses which required the girls to dig deep to get back on track. Each week has seen different girls shine and all have contributed to the teams success over the course of the season.

Tried and true Our thanks go to our coaches Phil Thomas and Stewart Payne for the time and effort they have put into developing the girls’ skills and for keeping them focused in sometimes frustrating situations.

We head into the finals as the No1 team with a chance to take out our 2nd premiership.

GO GIRLS!

They have met the challenge of first time coaches with maturity and enthusiasm, and always gave constant encouragement to the girls no matter what the score line may have been.

I am sure both players and coaches alike have grown as individuals and the season has been a great learning curve in their respective lives.

All share a love of the game and no matter what the skill level be proud what you have achieved as an individual.

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Rhiannon Dewar Jessica Lindstrom Michelle Maloney Sally Nixon Kate O'Connor Hayley O'Donnell Kerry Patounas Hannah Russell Kate Southward Melisa Yildiz

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Ready for anything

U16 Girls-4 As a team made up entirely of bottom agers, we have faced many challenges this year. Coming up against teams week after week who were physically stronger, we had to make sure we made the most of our opportunities. The focus this year was to teach the girls the strategic side of basketball, as well as their skills, to provide them with a strong basketball base, and to give them all the best opportunity to make the VC team next season.

After an intense grading period which left me with several less hairs than I started with, we landed ourselves in Metro 4. We kicked off the year with a ‘team bonding’ session in Blairgowrie, where much fun was had. From games, tournaments, to

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‘Amazing Race’ challenges the girls got to spend some quality time together and mix in an environment outside of basketball.

One major highlight this year was the Nunawading tournament. Finishing with a 3-2 record for the tournament, the girls showed how much they had progressed since the grading period. Convincingly winning 3 games, the 2 losses were both decided by single figures to teams who were in Metro 2.

The year has been full of ups and downs, but overall the girls have had a very successful season and have developed beyond all expectations. We’ve finished the season with a 9-9 record, and secured the

5th place on the ladder with a few rounds left, and subsequently our finals place. I have no doubt that we have the potential to go all the way, and I’m looking forward to a tough finals campaign.

Finally I’d like to thank the girls for making the last couple of years so enjoyable.

You challenge us every week, and I hope that you’ve enjoyed the last few seasons as much as Michelle and I have. I’d also like to thank the parents, once again you’ve been incredible in your support this season.

Cheers, Alex Lough.

Alison Dale Cassie Mercoulia Alycia Lourdes Maddie Payne Bethany Jeans Katherine Selir Lindsey Walsh Laura Casonato Georgia Flipo “G-Unit”

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U16 Girls-5

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Zoe Anagnostakos Alana Durham Mary Farquhar Emma Helmer Stef Miles Samantha Murnane Stephanie Murnane Natalija Nikolic Greta Robenstone Kaitlin Roney Courtney Wyatt

We have come a long way The Sensational Sandy Sabres 5 girls team are: Zoe Anagnostakos Alana Durham Greta Robenstone Natalija Nikolic Emma Helmer Steph Murnane Mary Farquhar Stef Miles Courtney Wyatt and Sam Murnane. Kaitlin Roney was part of our team until July when she left our team and Australia to move to Korea. We wish her all the best and the girls will miss her.

Our team has come a long way throughout the season. We have had some exciting games, made new friends and travelled late into the night to play games with commitment and enthusiasm. Some of the highlights of the year have been the tournaments, especially the Nunawading tournament where the team took time out to lunch together at Knox. The girls sampled every fa-

mous brand of perfume available and went shopping together- a truly bonding experience!!

Our coach Clare Mackie is keen and passionate. She loves working on new plays and gets very excited at the games. Thanks for coaching Sandringham Sabres 5 girls team Clare! We appreciate your enthusiasm and dedication.

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10/9/07 12:05:41 PM

Time Out! Time Outs are a precious few moments when the coaches have a few seconds to assess, reassess and motivate our players to address the next session of the game.

It has got to be the most difficult time in some players and coaches time in basketball. Be general but get the point across, be specific

but don’t point out faults, rev them up but don’t peak too early, it is really tough. Our coaches as I have walked around capturing pics for the mag are second to none. Calm in a crisis, passionate in the clutch and supportive to the end. The players love it , the looks on some players faces are priceless and

well worth a look as they try to take it all in while still trying to focus on their roles.

It all ends up with a passionate Go Sabres! as the hands go into the air and the game goes on!

Murray Payne

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Time Out!

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10/9/07 12:06:04 PM

U16 Boys-1

Talent and attitude

It has been a pleasure watching a group of young men committed to making the most of a very competitive year. Playing a positive and adventurous offensive style has been backed up in the last part of the season with solid defensive efforts culminating in the last round before the final series with a 2 point win against the second placed team at their home stadium.

This is in contrast to earlier rounds where 1 point losses and draws were the order of the day. What has been the difference in the latter end of the season? Personal development of each player, in particular the players joining the team from the second team which stabilised the line up. It

all comes down to commitment to training twice a week and learning from the coach and individuals taking responsibility for the team performance. This has been the really nice thing to see this year with every player stepping up and playing to the best of their ability at some point of the season. The trust and teamwork that has developed has ultimately carried the whole team forward to a solid 3rd place coming into the final series. This is sure to continue with the team confidence peaking at the right end on the season . Well done boys. Thanks coach for your dedication and passion which has sparked the team up.

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Devon Coe Jack Frost Jackson Hollands Hayden Jeans Joseph Kaipuke Tom Nicholls Mitch Ryan Steffan Scutti Daniel Shea Arona Tanielu Stefan Uzelac

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U16 Boys-2

Selfless team players

This year, the U16-2 Boys team have been enjoying a successful season playing in Metro 3.

Each player brought their own individual qualities to the team. It’s been great to watch these qualities come together. As the boys got to know each other’s strengths, and work hard to make the most of them, they brought out the best in each other with selfless team play.

We’ve had some very exciting and nerve racking games this season, keeping us on the edge of our seats.

We’ve had a good mix of skills needed to be successful in competition.

Our tallest boys, James Fenwick and Lachlan Winter, are fantastic assets to have under the basket, with their great rebounding abilities, James’ powerful shot blocking, and Lachlan’s incredible reach.

Guy Dixon gets out there and just does it. With his strong rebounds under the basket, great defence and full court game, he is a selfless team player.

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Troy Brodie Max Burstin Guy Dixon James Fenwick Stephan Fordham Lachlan Hardisty James Hooper James Roney Lachlan Winter

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With his power and athleticism, Troy Brodie is a dynamic and versatile player with a great leap and a good eye for the basket.

A fierce and passionate player, who is always hard at the ball, Max Burstin is a skilled playmaker and relentless defender, who loves to drive to the basket.

David Townsend is an athletic and acrobatic player, who, with great bounds through opponents passing lanes, makes explosive drives to the basket.

With his quick moving ball handling skills, agility and great game play, James Hooper gets the ball down the court fast.

While he’s a skilled and valued team player, Lachlan Hardisty is most celebrated for getting the team out of trouble with his renowned 3- point shooting.

Unfortunately, James Roney, always fun to have around, had to leave us in June to live in Korea for a year with his family. We’re sorry we couldn’t have his limber point guard skills with us to see out the season, but he did play a hell of a last game!

We’ve had our share of injuries this year, but nothing that’s kept the boys off for too long. Instead our Coach, Paul Dungan, took on that burden by having a serious (and ugly) ankle injury that kept him on crutches for several months. Hobbling along to coach the games throughout his painful injury showed his great commitment to the boys.

The team’s training this season has been of excellent quality and a lot of fun. Thank you Paul for your dedication and sense of humour. Thanks also to our enthusiastic assistant Coach, Stuart Hooper, who has been there to help throughout the season.

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10/9/07 12:06:38 PM

U16 Boys-3 Well where to begin, I suppose with the fact that the honour has been bestowed on me, yet again, to piece a few words together to describe yet another successful year in the lives of our most precious possessions.

Yes that’s right precious!!!

16-3 age was always going to be like prep or the first year at secondary school all over again being at the bottom of the pack, or at least we thought so. This year is all about future development once again and if we take a look at this not only on an individual level but also as a team we can honestly see how well the boys have developed, not just with the odd pimple, height adjustment or girlfriend but as quicker, stronger and hopefully smarter players.

The results are on the board, UNDEFEATED in the home and away season is certainly an achievement in itself and, finals aside, means that the boys may hold their heads high and honestly believe that they triumphed against all that the oppositions had to throw at them week after week. Be mindful that each week all these strong clubs come out to battle for a win as coming second is not the best option even in a development year.

Apart from battling opposition we have battled injury, the many commitments from all our other sporting pursuits, scholastic commitments along with the most difficult task of all, Growing Up.

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Time to step up All that in such a short time is absolutely outstanding. Take a bow gentlemen.

With respect to the highlights of the season we came out kicking with strategic wins in the Australia Day Tournament to take out the first place trophy, most coveted. From here the season began and it started all over again for the many people and parents involved at Sabres, and there are an awful lot of them.

Not long into the season and we were on the way to Adelaide again, something I can recommend without hesitation. Just ask anyone who’s been! It’s difficult to speak for all concerned, however beating the Blackburn 1, Metro 1 team in extra time would have to be right up there. Out played, out lasted, out coached, out supported and they were out of there!!!

Although grading in East one, on the home and away courts things have not always been easy with the team being pushed and having to come from behind on a number of occasions, thanks guys! I proffer that coaching may just have a little to do with this, oh yeah!!

Apart from the well deserved, obligatory, McDonalds on Friday nights the guys have had a number of special times playing poker, pizza nights, movie nights and of course the Trivia Night in Mentone where we were all forced to get up close and per-

sonal. How close was that? If you didn’t have a great time that night then maybe you just weren’t there.

Special thanks go obviously to our team Manager, Greg Uhe, our assistant Coaches, Rob Poole and Pete Dixon, (Thanks for the Wobbly Sticker Pete) and of course THE COACH Josh Rout. For those of you not aware Josh is right at the business end of V.C.E., no mean feat in itself, and has still earned and shown all the maturity and integrity that is difficult to attain over his few short years. I think his parents may just have something to do with that!!!

In closing I would like to wish our boys, and all the Sabres teams success over the next few weeks in the finals season and remind you that you are all welcome back very soon to further your journey in life with team basketball. I could go on and there are probably things I should have said however I now say thanks to all involved for the great ride so far, thanks to Sabres and most importantly to our sons for being such great competitors and more importantly, great guys.

Go Fair, Go Hard or Go Home then relax as I know you have all earned this.

P.S. Watch this space for the final installment of the season.

The 16-3 Scribe Lindsay Ogden

Luke Albury Nicholas Djordjevic Sam Frost Dylan Gabron-Uhe Mitchell Howes Luke Hulse Ciaran Lawrence Jake O'Donnell Taylor Ogden Hunter Pool

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Destiny awaits

Jamie Batish Tom Callaghan Bill Coates Hayden Eastwood Anthony Ekberg-Weiss Alex McKimm Keiran Rawlinson Leo Sleinis Christopher Thomas

Our team consists of a bunch of boys from 14-1’s, 14-2’s, 2 boys from Melb Tigers, 2 that have never played Rep basketball before and one from the UK. Grading started well with two wins, and then the injuries came along, strewth…

We unfortunately lost the next three games & from then on to get into East 1 we had to win every grading game. We then lost another two grading games which had us finishing up in East 2 Div 1. While grading was going they clicked as a team while competing in the Eltham/ Dandenong tournament. They did well, beating most teams convincingly. Unfortunately we lost to Traralgon in the semi final. The season started and we had a great win against Dandenong. Out of the

first nine games we only lost once. Every player contributed to each game in their own way. We were on top of the ladder.

At the start of the second half of the season we lost to Western Port who were 2nd on the ladder. We then went on to win the next four. Strewth again!… here come the injuries again. We were lucky to scrape through with some nail biting wins which almost killed our poor coach (Jerome). We lost one more game for the season against Waverley with only five fit players. We are now clear on top of the ladder at the end of the season awaiting our destiny in the finals. Hopefully we end up with bragging rights.

We would like to thank our coach JerJer ome Parot for his commitment to these boys, and all the parents for all their help throughout the season. Lastly, thanks to these wonderful young men, because without them we would not have a team.

Go Sabres Chris Thomas – Team Manager.

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U16 Boys-5

Consistent team efforts

The team had an enjoyable year but one of two halves. The first half the team went virtually undefeated but in the second half, the competition got a lot stiffer and it was very even by the end of the season.

Eight out of the 10 teams were in a real battle to make the finals.

We lost quite a few very close games and one even resulted in a draw. The draw proved to be decisive because in the end

we missed out on qualifying for the finals by only 1 point on the ladder. Our percentage was better than the other teams so it was really bad luck in the end to be so close but so far.

While it was a disappointing final result there were some great games which provided lots of entertainment value.

We were always competitive and all the players contributed to the team effort.

We participated in both the Australia Day and Queen’s Birthday weekend tournaments with close to a full list each time, which was a measure of the enthusiasm of the players who really enjoyed playing together. We were runners up in the first tournament and very competitive in the second, just missing the Final.

Ian Court Team Manager

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Jackson Arthur Max Court Caill Dunstan Daniel Geer Duncan Glascodine Gilbert Moffatt Hylton Norris Zlatan Radakovic Luke Robertson Patrick Slater

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10/9/07 12:07:15 PM

U16 Boys-6 I would like to open this overview of this boys team with an insight from one of our “TEAM” members.

“My first Year of Sandringham Sabres” Playing Sabres after playing 6 years of domestic basketball was a big leap.

The two and a half hours of training and Friday night matches have taken a lot of time out of my week.

But I couldn’t have found a better way to spend it.

There is no doubt that playing representative basketball is fine tuning my skills, and watching people like Tom and Stef play only inspires me to work and practice harder.

The speed and endurance required to play Sabres has helped me hone in on my fitness and my physical level.

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Lessons for life I have also been able to take the different plays to my domestic team and also bring it down to many levels and use it with my coaching of the domestic U12’s team.

I have really enjoyed Sabres this year and not only do I see the difference in my playing ability but also have it commented on by those around me.

I hope to take it on for the next few years.

Kalin Kempster U16-6’s.

This team of young men came together after the try outs late last year.

Most of them had not played any basketball together and in fact they did not even know each other.

Our coaching team is led by Parveen “Patch” Batish and assisted by Stephen Walsh.

You hear a lot of stories about how coaches influence player’s skills, styles, discipline and wanting to achieve at a higher level.

This team is the “example” of a

group that have been taken under the guidance of both coaches. They have taught these boys so much from try outs until now it is testament to the program, coaches and the players.

Our team is currently in number one position with one round remaining.

I am sure that as parents and family we have noticed the improvement of the boys in their basketball skills and day to day life experiences, and are very proud of them.

We thank Patch and Stephen.

Thank you to all the families and friends that bring the boys along to training and games each week, and also help out whenever required to score and cheer the team along.

I am sure the boys really appreciate it.

As always, “GO SABRES” Tony Barca - Team Manager

Arran Batish Stefan Barca Simon Clark Jordan Dean Jay Dillon Jason Izydorczyk Kalin Kempster Tom O'Brien Jack Ocwieja Christopher Tilbey Charlie Barber

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Nunawading Tournament As our preferred Queens’ Birthday Weekend tournament, the Nunawading Tournament is a real measuring stick for where teams are sitting in the middle of the season. We are able to gauge ourselves over a very short period to see how we are sitting against some of

the best teams in the state. Sandringham was very well represented again with most teams competing at the top of their game. I’ll leave it to individual coaches to let you know of their efforts but as an outsider the blue and orange of the Sabres colours stands out like no

other club and is certainly respected in the basketball community as a competitive, passionate and professional organisation.

Murray Payne

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10/9/07 12:08:01 PM

U18 Girls-1 At the beginning of the season, the under 18 girls made one goal, which was to make VC. The girls decided that they wanted to challenge themselves as individuals and as a team and they were driven by the desire to play against the best players in the state. The team was successful in achieving its goal and new goals were set. Unfortunately early in the season, Julia Curcio, our most dominant player, who was averaging a ‘double double’ a game, suffered a knee injury, which resulted in a season ending knee reconstruction. The girls struggled to recover and we found that with only one tall in the team it was going to be difficult. I was very proud of the girls for sticking together through a challenging season. We faced adversity with smiles on our faces, often annoyed at our performance, but at the same time having a laugh and developing friendships. I discovered throughout the season that the girls were capable of finding anything funny, although often laughing “at me” not “with me”.

One tough season!

There will be moments during the season that I will regret, of course not winning more games, but more importantly some of my quotes that just didn’t work out and when you are coaching under 18 girls, you are reminded of them constantly!!! For example, during a timeout in one game, I stated, “ If I could buy a box out, I would”.

• Lauren’s ability to improve during the season and be an offensive threat, while playing in pain

The season wouldn’t have been the same without:

• Hannah’s ability to get rebounds over bigger opponents

• Ricki’s inappropriate but funny comments and her ability to beat any opponent

• Julia’s poor shooting percentage, but at the same time averaging a double double

• Bridie’s ability to shoot and score over any opponent • Ally’s ability to put pressure on the other team and call out offensive plays that didn’t exist

• Jess’ effort to play as our only tall • Dallas’ consistency on the court and her ability to score player, often dominating against bigger and taller players • The team’s poor shooting percentage and wanting to do shooting drills for • Amy’s ongoing team spirit and efthe whole training session fort on the court, no matter what the score • The parents commitment to yell and scream for the team, no matter what • Monique’s ability to always be smilthe result ing and laughing, most of the time at nothing • The three wins!! Let’s be honest, they felt great!!

Paul Graham - Coach

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Lauren Belza Julia Curcio Jessie Khera Monique Lourdes Rikki-Lee McCombe Dallas McGuire Bridie Norman Hannah Ross Ally Salter Amy Seymour

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U18 Girls-2

Take the challenge

What a strange season we have had this year. We started off with 8 players – looking good we thought – 3 on the bench, great that should cover absences etc – but no that did not last. We lost two players early on and then there were 6.

Luckily our Coach Scott Middleton was able to recruit Nicole Lowe to the team.Then, as everyone knows with young ladies, the distractions/ absences started. We had bouts of glandular fever, injuries, school camps/holidays, school formals and Amy Harris left us for Sunny Qld. We even had one out with a broken wrist (thanks to school football!!) but still the girls all plodded

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on and did their very best, sometimes only taking the court with 5 players. Scott remained positive and calm, each week trying to create new plays with only a few in attendance. Still we kept on sending out SOS’s for new players and thankfully Karly Funnell returned to the Sabres Den. Good old Scott managed to recruit another 2 players from his connections, so our final team was Morgan Hitchcock, Nicole Lowe, Libby Hobley, Eloise Zanier, Hannah Curtis, Amy Coleman, Karly Funnell, Michelle Palmer and Hannah Robinson.

Scott was ably assisted by Brooke Wallace as his Assistant Coach, and she was able to pass on knowledge and work individually with the girls.

It has been a funny season, lots of laughs and adventures. Car pooling was certainly a highlight.

Thanks go to Scott and Brooke for coaching the girls, and to their parents. Good Luck for the future!

Francine Palmer Team Manager

Amy Coleman Hannah Curtis Karly Funnell Amy Harris Morgan Hitchcock Libby Hobley Nicole Lowe Michelle Palmer Eloise Zanier

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Coaches

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10/9/07 12:08:40 PM

U18 Boys-1 Well, what a season we are having…I think we should call it a season of injuries and formals.

Jack… shoulder, Ricki… ankle, Rob… ankle, Mickey… shoulder, Tim… ribs, finger, James… ankle, Big Tim … finger and Josh… exhaustion. Kudos to Mitch and Walshy for being the only uninjured players for the year.

We have only played 5 games with a full team, and one game with 5 players…..it surely shows the depth in our team as we will be going into finals as minor premiers.

The lads started their grading games, and after playing a crossover game in December, made it into VC. After welcoming our new

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Hard fought success coach Kelvin Bowers to the team, we were looking forward to a great year, and had set high expectations on ourselves with the Dandenong/ Eltham Tournament, Classic, Adelaide and the Championships high on their list.

At the Dandenong Eltham Tournament we came away premiers, with a convincing win over what would be our rivals for the season...Diamond Valley.

In the Adelaide tournament, with just one loss, we never made it to finals…but a great effort and fun was had by all.

The Classic was the one the boys really wanted…and after three wins we were in the finals. A hard fought

game against Diamond Valley, saw us fighting harder for a win against Nunawading, and ending up in the final against Dandenong. Another very tough game…the boys running out of legs, but not heart,…. saw Dandenong being the better team, and Sabres ending up runners up.

The boys have again learnt a lot this year….Big T (being totally new to the program) improving at each game…and each of the other lads taking on a different role within the team.

A big thank you to Kale Pryor, Will Schubert, Nathan Geer, Dan Ella, Simon, Shane and all our supporters and parents.

Josh Wilcher Jack Watts James McKinnon Adam Walsh Rikki Dehaan Tim Clark Tim McMullen Mitchell Watts Robert Kugler Michael Theodoridis

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U18 Boys-2

Dig deep and hang tough

With one of the smallest teams playing in Metro 1, we have proven to be the best defensive unit in the division. Playing with 4 guards, 2 mids and 4 talls at the start of the season, we have been gutted with change of personnel and injury to have finished the regular season in the four and playing finals with three fit players and the rest playing with injury. To be where we

are is a great testament to character of the players and in particular the standards set by our coach Tyler Wilsmore, but as he would say, its what happens on court that tells the story. Hopefully as we enter the finals, we can regain some players from injury and go all the way. There’s no shortage of self belief amongst the team, and I wouldnt be surprised if they

do succeed. Fact is, they already have, and against all the odds.

Tyler, Jarrod, James, Will, Daniel, Kale, Nathan, Ben, Jamie and Tom, we congratulate you on representing the Club, your families and yourselves with distinction and class.

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Thomas Dalzotto Daniel Ella Ben Fraser Nathan Geer Kale Pryor James North Will Schubert James Shulman Blair Kingston Jarrad Dullard

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U18 Boys-3

Tenacity and commitment By try-out’s end, 13 boys chased 10 last places in the 18-3s. One was injured. 12 left. Sam Walsh chose Squad. 11 left, one to cull.

We decided not to cull, and to run a rostered day off, RDO, for each boy, every 11th game. If we made finals, one boy would be dropped for that series.

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With our 10-7 win record, third overall, we will make the finals; happily no boy will be dropped, as sadly, Scott Wells decided to leave our team in July.

Essentially this bottom age Team [2 are top age, Miro and Luke] came together well to make it into Metro 4, and found itself in the company of Keilor3, Coburg2 & Waverley7, but otherwise all Number One Teams

for their Club. Our achievements to date say a lot for the boys’ skill and teamwork, and for the tenacity and commitment of both players and coach. Well done, Brad, Calvin, Ben, Jesse, Dave, Jovan, Matt Smith, Miro, Matt Shnookal, Luke and also Scott. Thanks Allan, Zlatko and Roy. TMs Linda and Wendy also.

Bob Ashcroft

David Ashcroft Jovan Bojanic Miro DjUrkovic Brad Fairhurst Jesse Gordon-Manley Calvin Norris Ben Shellim Mat Shnookal Matthew Smith Scott Wells Luke Williams

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Sabres is fun!!!

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Floor Wipers All through the year we consistently call on volunteers to take on a variety of roles that help out the club. We take this chance to thank all the players that

helped out on game night and took to the floor as floorwipers. We had a great group of young helpers this year and even some older ones! We are look-

ing for a better way to dry the floor as the wipers don’t seem to work and inevitably everybody ended up using their boots to dry the floor!

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U20 Boys-1

A final charge!

Our 2007 started in Dec.’06 with a game against Broadmeadows to go to VC. We lost ,so we started again in ‘07 this time with a mixture of top and bottom age boys. Playing together over the grading games helped to gell the team and we won our way into Metro 1.The team of Neal Mueller, Sam Wilsmore, Israel Jones, Will Hassell, Bevan Camilleri, Sam Dowling, Gavin Tonkin and Chris Taylor were later in the season joined by Michael Nowlan who had been in America playing High School ball.

We certainly had our share of injuries this year with Gavin, Bevan and Chris being the only players to play

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all games. Sam had to retire with a serious knee injury and one game we had Neal and Bevan with ankle injuries, Izzy with a broken arm received playing domestic at the start of the season,and Sam away so we had to get James McKinnon from U18s to fill in.

At the moment we sit in second spot on the ladder and heading for finals.

We hope to outdo last years efforts of grand final runners up and, with it being the last junior rep season for Bevan,Michael,Gavin and Chris I’m sure the boys will be trying their hardest.

Throughout the year we had a mixed run of good wins and bad losses.

Every player has improved over the season and most have been regularly training with the men, so much so that we had six players playing with our Youth League team.Not a bad result for a team of eight.

We once again must say a big thank you to our coach,Dave Pummell who is always generous with his time.I must not forget all our parents who have been fantastic with both U20s and Youth League.A big thank you to them.

Trish Taylor retiring Team Manager.

Bevan Camilleri Sam Dowling Will Hassall IsraelJones Neal Mueller Rhett Ngawaka Chris Taylor Gavin Tonkin Sam Wilsmore

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Thanks Refs!

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It would be a lonely place without em! Thanks to all the Referees that give their time, energy and patience to helping us to support our players on their Friday night endeavours! You are all appreciated very much!

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Signatures

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