In Aus, you will generally find a better standard of junior development in clubs than schools. First decide where you are going to live. Then work out the nearest club that has Representative teams in the Junior Waratah League. Find out when they run their try outs. Register, turn up, try out and hopefully make a team.

Welcome to Australia and to Sydney.

Unlike other countries, the peak competition for basketball talent resides in regional clubs that are partly state sponsored, not in the private school system.
There are good private schools with quality basketball programs, but they don't play all year round and the pathway to develop promising players is less developed than offered by the regional clubs. NSW state teams are drawn from regional clubs, not school teams. So - in Sydney's north have a look at Manly, Hills and Hornsby. Avoid Norths just now. (Great club, just going through some issues right now with venues and coaching). Closer to the CBD, Sydney Comets. In the south west, Bankstown.
Certainly private schools can offer an extra layer of quality coaching and playing opportunities which has proven useful recently with many comps shutdown due to Covid. In the north have a look at Redlands at Cremorne, St Lukes and St Augustines. Closer to town look at Scots. The other thing to keep in mind is whether you want your son to undertake the IB rather than the HSC. Here I recommend Redlands again.

Probably worth pointing out that clubs will run a domestic competition, where you play with your mates against other teams from within the club and somebody's dad is coach. The club will also have more serious representative teams, selected on merit and with experienced coaches that play against other associations. If he is serious and any good, getting on one of these representative teams should be his aim.

Hi Søren,

welcome to Sydney.

With respect to schools, the ones that compete in the ISA, GPS and CAS leagues tend to have stronger programs.

When it comes to clubs, the bigger metropolitan associations are all making strides with their programs. You can contact Basketball New South Wales who would be happy to help I am sure. You could also examine the recent announcements for high performance teams and programs on BNSW website and socials, the clubs with higher representation numbers within those selections tend to relfect strength of program.

All the best.

Thank you all for the insightful tips. We are to live North of Sydney center so will look further into "Manly, Hills and Hornsby" and Sydneys Boys as suggested. What about timing? How often are teams running try-outs?

I wrote we were to relocate summer 2021 - well European summer :-) So we will probably come to Sydney somewhere around July, August, September 2021.

Thanks again.
Søren

Hey Soren,

Trials are generally run by clubs in October/November, so your timing is just about perfect. Your son will be in the u18's I am guessing, so I would look into the clubs that have a D1 side here:

https://websites.sportstg.com/comp_info.cgi?a=FIXTURE&compID=554132&c=0-10628-0-0-0

All the best, and feel free to reach out if you need any more information.

Dave

Saint Augustine's Çollege at Brookvale has a very good Basketball program. It has recently produced an Australian National Championship team, regular conference Championship teams and is coached by a dual Olympic Basketballer. It is part of the Manly Warringah Association who play out of a modern facility near the beach. The school has produced a number of Div 1 and Div 2 NCAA players along with regular overseas trips to play schools in the US. It is located on Sydney's famous Northern Beaches to the North of the City and is the best place to live, we call it God's Country. It will give your family the perfect taste of the Australian lifestyle and beach culture. I suggest you contact the School directly. Good luck!