NEXT Gen basketball coach Peter Cunningham has the region’s junior talent training next to the imposing structure of Ballarat’s newest indoor stadium.
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Cunningham wants to further inspire juniors with a clear reminder how lucky they will be to grow their game in the Ballarat Sports and Events Centre.
Next Gen juniors train twice a week before school on existing courts with stage one BSEC works next door underway in creating six more courts, including a 3000-seat arena. Cunningham said this was one of the most exciting developments for Ballarat indoor sports in the more than 20 years he had been involved in coaching.
The former Ballarat Rush head coach is backing a bid for a strength, learning and conditioning centre, which he said would strengthen development pathways for players across regional Victoria at home rather than having to travel further afield to access elite facilities, as they did now.
Cunningham said in turn, this could also benefit players of all levels in Ballarat.
“It is important that we build a strong local base which includes these extra facilities for both the Miners and Rush rather than relying on having to top up competitive teams with players from other areas,” Cunningham said.
“BSEC and our programs provide a platform for players to live and work locally and still play at very high levels, become involved in the community and provide visible role models that interact with clubs and the community.”
Stage two plans for the project have a $5.1 million funding pledge from the Liberal Party ahead of the November state election, but is yet to receive a commitment from Labor.
When the stadium opens next year, it will be 110 years since the first basketball game in Ballarat at the YMCA – 18 years after the YMCA created the game as a way to keep men fit during the summer in the United States.
Basketball Ballarat is pushing for BSEC to become an official basketball training hub for Victorian junior development in western Victoria. Bendigo has already been marked as one of seven potential dedicated high-performance training centres across the state.
Lucky number nine as history repeats in Ballarat basketball
In an historic quirk, it appears basketball has an exiting trend for any year ending in nine – including the new Ballarat Sports and Events Centre, which is on schedule to open mid-2019.
Take a look.
- 1909 (May 7): First game of basketball played in Ballarat at YMCA, 18 years after the sport was created by the YMCA in the United States.
- 1949: One of the first basketball club associations in city formed as Ballarat Protestant Churches Association (later Ballarat Basketball Association)
- 1969: Mars Minerdome initially built as a two-court stadium.
- 1989: Ballarat Miners create national history winning the Victorian Country, Victorian state and South East Australian Basketball League national crowns in one year.
- 2019: BSEC to open, 110 years after first basketball game in Ballarat.
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