Look at the blow outs that are occurring in u12 and u14 div 2. Kids aren't moving and div 3 looks more lop sided.

Look at the blow outs that are occurring in u12 and u14 div 2. Kids aren't moving and div 3 looks more lop sided.

Look at the blow outs that are occurring in u12 and u14 div 2. Kids aren't moving and div 3 looks more lop sided.

Nothing new - the South Adelaide u/14 team I played on in the mid 1960's went on a 55 game winning streak due to this policy. Went through the first season of u/14 (Summer) undefeated with an average winning margin of 15-20 points in div 2. They changed the rules and put us up to div 1 and we still played off in the finals, being knocked out by the South "A Team" by a couple of points.

Age old problem of attracting players and keeping them is still there - both the Smyth boys played for South in U/14s but moved to Sturt for better coaching and "opportunities".

How would zoning improve kids NOT moving?

Surely the clubs without recruitment and development wouldn't have anyone.

And how would you break up Forestville, Sturt and South evenly?

anon pro / rel or free agency sounds good - trouble is it is a lot of bother for the 1/2 a dozen to 18 odd players out of 100s that may want to move.

when my kids played, if they were zoned they would have quit - we were happy to drive further and enjoy our basketball - the local club was a back yard set up - zoning would only support poor work done by our local club, that continually made some very poor decisions.


pro/rel - yes
zone - no way

and further - so what if forestville and sturt have 2 div 1 teams - when this has happened previously (about 8 years ago) this was the only time our div 1 teams used to regularly beat sturt / forestville - since restricting it to one team - we have not been able to beat them regularly.

and the theory that players will go play div 1 elsewhere - probably affected 2-4% i.e. 2-3 players that shift to play Div 1 elsewhere.

surely by now the decision makers must realize that this rule did not work as well as they had planned.

in fact there are less div 1 teams in some grades than before this rule

put it this way - my kids were at a perennial bottom 3 club - coaches not rolling up, half baked trainings, coach not "bothering" putting us into classics the few times we made it.

= waste of fees and time - and i played junior ball myself for that club and worked my ass off as an adult volunteer.

Club actually downplayed any attempts to improve their programme 'we like being how we are" i.e. a bottom club with no ambitions.

Purely social.

We went a little bit further to a well organized top 4 club - coaches were at every training - the kids actually learnt something about basketball -
organized.

= money and time well spent.

and still had a social life with bball

I think you hit the nail on the head - coaches.

The top teams in div 2 will beat the last 4 (at least if not more) in div 1 (in the u/12 and u/14) so why not let them have 2 teams in div 2. Surely basa should be trying to keep kids playing basketball. They wont move. They will just drop out and play footy/netball etc. (it's alot cheaper per season) If your club is good enough to win and have 2 teams, keep them playing basketball. It will even out in the higher grades because then the kids can make up their own mind to change clubs. Parents will always keep their kids at a stong club with good coaches in juniors, no matter what zone they live in.

anon #344920

The issue is, how do you divide up the area around Sturt, South and Forestville? Sturt would get all of Forestville's kids and Forestville would be left with kids from Woddville and Norwood area who would hacve to travel further to get there. And south would get kids from up the hill that are closer to Southern because Southern would have a massive area.

And then how do you organise change with time?

And then, what happens when you have someone who is an ex player. ie Father-Son, Mother-Daughter. How do you manage it when there are no actual records of who played where? Unlike football which has a limited club junior program, so basketball players have a long time association with a club without actually playing ABA. Does someone who was a president for 10 years have to have their grandkids play at aanother club?

I never understand why a parent will take their kid out of a Division 1 team to play Division 2 or below at a stronger Club (even if they win more games.

What you miss out on when your not Division 1:

- Classics (I know it is the stronger Clubs that qualify but you certainly have no chance if your a Division 2 team)
- State Championships (reserves are not the State Championships)
- Putting yourself up against the best players
- Chance for an invite to the TI camps
- Playing under the eye of all the Coaches that have SASI or State involvement
- Better referreeing?
- Fully timed games

You give all of this up to be coached by a so called better coach or Club with a better development plan but may never play Division 1?

Most Clubs have decent coaches especially at Division 1 level and I would struggle to believe there a so many better Division 2 coaches around even at the stronger Clubs.

Honestly, if your playing Division 2 at a strong Club and believe your good enough to play Division 1 than move and test yourself.

If you have not cracked the Division 1 side in Summer than maybe you need to move and play at the highest level.

rose coloured glasses there mate

People play at clubs for a variety of reasons.

Being a div 1 player doesn't really beat things like playing with mates. Friendship groups. Developing over time. Etc.

It's not like 99.9% if players will make anything financially out of it anyway.

anon,
centrals would pay their womens ABA team more than they would their coaching directors combined.

Centrals need to put less emphasis on bragging about having a record number of state country players and putting more emphasis on getting their Div 1 teams competitive.

They will when you beat them.

Winning 1 game doesn't beat them. Win 4 or more and that is a winning night.

REntal/#345033, it does give me a little bit of a laugh at these types; when grown adults get on here and talk smack about which junior kids won and who lost. I laugh at the lack of integrity, lack of intelligence and lack own personal acheivement in anything that would drive someone to take this activity up. I have no idea who the posters are at the other end and may be wrong but just have a think about it!

The information about kids making teams or achieving overseas is promoting sporting pathways, to grow the game and encourage other athletes to aspire to these levels. The internet is a fantastic tool to get this kind of information out there. It also helps the kids battling away in their programs away from homes to know that they have lots of supporters back home. I'd encourage clubs to do likewise.

This topic is about 1 team per div, just let the clubs field as many teams as they can and keep kids playing basketball, and dont let teams be smashed every week, let the club put them in the right grade.

If your club does the right thing and have good coaching and admin they will attract players,and the players will enjoy their basketball.

As it gives me laugh when someone uses the internet to makes rediculous clims about how good their program is based on country representaion from their club when the kids were already rep playes before entering the club. Or how they have 'arguably the best coaching line up in the state'.

i think this is a bad move for there to be only 1 team per div. It shuts down the opportunity for the first year players to get experience in the new age group and it means that some kids with the potential to play div 1 second year will not get enough experience.

i guess moving clubs is an option for those kids but that is a big descion for any player. It is disloyal and uncomfortable for young players, and really as an ex-player your parents should have nothing to do with making choices for them. you think you pay good money and have the utmost thought of your own child, but really, honestly if they're not playing div 1 they're shit anyway.

I dont think 1 team per div can work the way it is expressed here.
I do believe it would even the comp initially with kids changing clubs to get a game in div 1 or 2.
But it opens the possibility of top age div1 kids dropping to div 3 as bottom ages the following season, because there is only one div 2 team to fit top and bottom ages in.
That i think is in nobodys best interest.
There is nothing wrong with div 3 if you are at that standard, or i think clubs having multiple teams in it.

119, some truly valid points.

Anyone who can put their hand on their heart and say that junior basketball in this state is healthy is living in la la land.

The gap between boys and girls participation, the gap in strength between the top and bottom clubs, and the perceived bias in the competition format and organisation are huge elephants in the room that no-one wants to resolve. Let's face it, 9:45 pm games are just too late so is it any wonder that kids, especially country kids, drop out at that level. Stadiums and facilities can be described as "ordinary" just to be kind to some of the ramshackled tin shed firetraps with moonscape carparks.

The girls competition is a farce with poor participation meaning lopsided matches. The gap between Div 1 and Div 2 is basically non-existant and the gap between “social” and Div 2 is a chasm so it is very hard for new girls to enter the sport at this level. The boys competition is somewhat more even, probably by mistake rather than good planning, but still has issues with regards to consistency. I would argue that a strong "social" player could enter a Div 2 team relatively easily.

Each competition is dominated by one club, which always has a tendancy to happen and is not necessarily a bad thing, but when one club has more teams in one division than an entire club's programme, then alarm bells should be blaring at the Association HQ.

Participation rates appear higher in Victoria and considering Melbourne is 4 times Adelaide’s population, one expects that the number of players should be 4 times more, not 8 or 10 times. (can someone please confirm the actual numbers?) The Adelaide comp should be larger than what it is and I believe we need MORE clubs, rather than fewer clubs.

Basketball is a relatively high cost sport. A Principal mate of mine at a “lower socio-economic school” relayed to me that BSA had a competition where his school was invited, but there was a cost to entry. He said that the SANFL had a similar competition which was FREE, plus they had giveaways, SANFL players there etc etc.

At the end of the day, kids need to play at the level where their skills are at. If some clubs can fill two Div 2 teams that are competitive and there is room in the comp for it, then “good luck” to those teams. However, Clubs should not behave like posh bratz and expect to have two teams regardless. The question that I believe is the real issue with all this, and that I have maintain for a while is, “How can we get more participation in the sport?”

Whoa there 207, those Q's are too deep and meaningful!

I am lead to believe that if you go to the Art Gallery on North Tce and bring a UV lamp you'll find a series of clues in a Hans Heysen that leads you into becoming a master suspect in a web of intrigue.

If you're Adelaide Olde Money, you'll know where The Adelaide Club is and know the secret password. If you're not a Bonython, Barr-Smith, Gosse, Angas or Elder, then find someone who is and after a chucka or two they might share it over a 100 year old scotch.

Watch out for an albino 7 foot centre with a penchant for whipping himself senseless.

At the end of a long trail around the leafy suburbs of Adelaide, you find a secret chamber under Wayville which was dug as a bomb shelter in WW2, where if you are lucky you'll be initiated into a secret society. (just be very careful where the goat arrives, but you'll be OK if you went to a certain private school)

Once initiated into the first level, you'll find an even more double secret chamber.

What is the structure of BSA? Who appoints them? What is there charter?

The answer is actually on the BSA website if you can bother to do some very basic research.

2 teams in Div 2 U14 Boys