weekends
The Club was set up 16 years ago to co-ordinate the basketball teams from Albert Park Primary School competing in the Saturday afternoon competition at MSAC, run by Port Phillip Basketball Association. John Mulligan, the APPS sports teacher, was one of the founders, and for many years Jedda Reidy from the APPS office ran the Club. However, the Club is NOT run by the school and is a totally independent, non-profit organisation run by volunteer parents.
In 2013, the Club had 22 teams competing on Saturday afternoons. Most players were students at APPS, but some teams have one or two local friends or ex-APPS students. Seven of the 22 teams in 2013 were secondary school teams, with most players having attended APPS.
Most teams begin at grade 3 level. (Younger players can register for PPBA's 10-week development programs, Hoopsters or Dribble Pass 'n Shoot, or compete as a team in a separate competition on Friday nights called Playball). Usually, a parent whose child is keen to play will recruit others, to form a team of 6-10 players of the same gender. Each team must have a manager and a coach and supply a scorer (parent) for each game.
In mid to late January, the Port Phillip Basketball Association (PPBA) posts team registration information on its website at http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-5455-0-0-0 Registration day is usually a Saturday in mid February and matches begin at the end of February, then continue until October (no matches in school holidays). Team managers need to register their team on that day, or organise for someone else to take their paperwork to registration.
The fee to register a team is $40. In addition, a sheet fee of $45 per team is payable each week (most team managers collect the sheet fees from parents for a term and pay it in advance to PPBA). Each week, players and spectators pay $1 for entry to MSAC basketball stadium.
The manager's role is to organise the team. They will need to collect player details for registration, fill in the registration forms, register the team in February, collect money for sheet fees, check the PPBA website each week for the fixture and make sure the team has enough players for each game. They will also need to organise a training venue and team singlets (see below). In April, the manager or another team representative is expected to attend the PPBA annual general meeting at MSAC.
Most teams have a parent or older sibling of one of the players coaching. Some teams pay teenagers to coach their team, typically $10-$20 per training session and game. Potential sources for coaches include Southport's secondary school teams, Wesley College's IB program (which requires year 11/12 students to perform community service for no fee), Albert Park College's Basketball Academy players and the Melbourne Tigers basketball club (based at MSAC).
Many of the APPS teams train after school on the APPS court. Because of high demand, and use by netballers and other teams, training slots must be booked through Jedda Reidy in the school office. Most teams only have a half-court for training, so more teams can be accommodated. The court is not available on weekends.
Each team retains its slot from the previous year, unless they swap with another team or no longer need it. Please let Jedda know of any changes. Once a team reaches year 7, they cannot have a training slot at APPS.
Other local venues used for training include Galilee Primary School, Albert Park College's outdoor court and Port Phillip Specialist School indoor court. Team managers will need to contact these venues to confirm availability and cost.
Over the past couple of years, the Club has gradually switched from navy tops to emerald green ones, with a navy and white strip under the arm. This allows the APPS teams to stand out from Elwood and Middle Park teams, who both wear blue.
The Club's preferred supplier is McGraw Designs (although team managers may choose a different supplier if they wish). Orders are made through the website at www.mcgrawdesigns.com.au. Click on the tab FAQ, then scroll down to "How do I order?" to download an order sheet in PDF format. The club style is Style E, body colour emerald, first panel navy, second panel white. Material is mock mesh, trim is one colour navy. Numbers are full block colour white.
As a rough guide to sizing, grades 2-4 players are usually sizes 4XS, 3XS or XXS. Grades 5-6 are usually XS, S or M. Lower secondary players are usually S, M or L. (There is a sizing guide on the McGraw website).
Cost depends on size and single or double digit numbers, and is around $28-$32 per top, plus postage of around $11 per order. In addition, matching shorts can also be ordered through McGraw, at a cost of about $30. (Most players source their own plain navy shorts from Target etc).
The Club has a small number of spare tops to lend to players who are waiting for their new tops or have misplaced their top. These tops are plain navy or plain green. Another option is for team managers to order one extra top and hold it as a spare for their team.
Port Phillip Basketball Association:
See http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?c=1-5455-0-0-0