2023-2024 Presentation Day

Sunday 15th September brought around our 2024 club presentation day, and the weather Gods smiled on us once again. Whilst it wasn’t quite the absolutely cracking day we had last year, after the rain and hail of Saturday, a dry day was all we were hoping for and we got that plus some bonus sunshine! 

Once again we gathered down at Price Reserve, Werribee South to celebrate the season that was and the amazing success of our club.  

Our committee members and their families put on our annual club BBQ and we had our now regular coffee van and ice cream vendors, George from Chalk Coffee Roasters and Mr Quick Whip, who both did a roaring trade by all accounts! 

Kids and adults alike were kept entertained by the inflatables provided by Xtreme Party Hire. Many a competition was seen to be had on the inflatable basketball hoops and their popcorn station proved very popular! 

All club players, from our littlest under 8’s to our biggest under 23’s were presented with a 2023/2024 club medal, for their participation and contribution to their individual teams, and our club as a whole. Our coaches were also each given the opportunity once again to present a coach’s award to a player in their team: 

-a player that showed commitment to the team and improvement on and off the court  

-a player that was most improved from beginning of the season  

-a player that shows sportsmanship consistently  

-a player who puts the team first  

-the chosen player did not necessarily have to be the most talented player on the team, rather someone who portrays the values we as a club strive to represent 

There were some proud kids, (with some very proud parents) who were all very deserving of their awards!  

As a thank you for their time and effort, all our coaches were gifted with a club cap or beanie and a voucher to order a club t-shirt of their choice. Without our volunteer coaches, your kids would not be able to play the game they love and we sincerely thank them for their time and dedication.  You can get your St Andrews club merch too – order via www.standrewsbc.com.au/shop/   Let’s show everyone in Wyndham which club we belong to! 

This day is also an opportunity to celebrate special game milestones. We presented players with trophies and plaques for 100, 200, 300, 400 and even 500 club games!  

A very special mention must go to Abby Taylor who is now our current club games record holder with an amazing 504 games! Abby started playing with St Andrews as an under 8 and is now an under 23.  Well done Abby, this is a fantastic achievement! How many more games can she rack up? And who out there is going to try and better her record? 

Another shout-out goes to Kane Hart, who played a total of 418 games for the club, but has now aged out of junior competition – congratulation on a great achievement Kane. Will younger brother Jackson beat his overall total? 

Milestone game awards 

We also presented our 2 perpetual club awards.

The Paul Mollica Memorial Trophy is a very special award that was named in memorium of past club player, Paul Mollica. Paul played for St Andrews as a child and was sadly diagnosed with leukemia in 1990. He fought hard, but passed away in 1994. Throughout his illness Paul continued to play for and support his team, often getting out on court when he really shouldn’t have and nobody thought he would be able to, and supporting his team from the sidelines when he couldn’t. He showed great courage, determination and sportsmanship and never wanted to let his teammates down. St Andrews continues to remember Paul every year with this award. His parents, Greg & Marlene are often on hand to present the award themselves. The award is given to a volunteer for the club, who contributes over and above in supporting St Andrews Basketball Club.   

The Paul Mollica Memorial Trophy was presented this year to the Wymer Family. 

The Wymers have been involved in St Andrews Basketball Club since eldest daughter Mia started playing as an under 10. Younger sister Oliva joined her soon after.  

Kym has been on the committee since 2018 first as a general member, then as treasurer/secretary and currently holding the office of treasurer. However, as well as these ‘official’ duties, Kym gives so much more of her time and energy to the club. If there is a job that needs doing, you can generally assume Kym will be putting her hand up to do it and she has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to the running of the club and is always available to answer questions and offer advice.   

As well as being a committee member, Kym has also coached junior teams, is team manager and is a founding member of our inaugural senior women’s team, the Belles. 

Both of the Wymer daughters played with St Andrews right through juniors, with Olivia currently still playing in our under 20 Aces. Both sisters also regularly play in our senior women’s team with their mum and grandma! Mia & Olivia have both coached junior teams at the club, with Olivia set to re-enter the coaching fraternity again this coming Summer season. 

Lachlan is always on hand to support any club functions, manning the BBQ’s, transporting goods and setting up & packing down. Special thanks also for always providing space in his shed and garage to store various club paraphernalia! 

Without families like the Wymers, willing to put in their time and effort, sporting clubs like ours would not be able to exist, and provide our kids with a place to nurture their love of the game. Big thanks to all of you for everything you have, and continue to put into our club.  

The David Abel Award was presented to Elijah Mackie from the Stingrays.                       

This award is presented in honour of Dave Abel, who for those of you that don’t know him, was the longest-standing president of our club. Without his many years of hard work and dedication (still ongoing!) our club would certainly not be flourishing like it is. Dave’s children played for the club many years ago, he has coached numerous teams (and still does – watch out Lions – you’re in for some hard work next season!) and he is a mentor for many of our younger coaches. He still gives so much of his time to the club and has a wealth of knowledge that he is always happy to share and he is always putting his hand up to help out. You’ll see him around the stadium regularly on training nights and game day!  

The award recipient is selected by Dave from nominations put to him from coaches in the club. He looks for a player who has made a strong contribution to their team and the club, has been a long-standing member of the club and is an all-round good person. The nominee need not be the best player on the team, but shows great sportsmanship, is a great teammate and team player. 

Elijah’s coach Alan submitted the following nomination: 

“I would like to nominate Elijah Mackie for the Dave Abel award. Elijah plays in the Stingrays U23 team and I believe he displays all of the behaviours that clubs look for in their players.
Elijah is at an age where it can be difficult for players to attend training because of school and work responsibilities, but he regularly attends. The Stingrays train with an Under 18 boys’ team, the Cavaliers and Elijah displays leadership traits by mentoring the Under 18 players during training drills. He consistently encourages his team mates during training sessions and is always looking at ways to help his team to improve.
Elijah is a player who displays great sportsmanship on the court, and his attitude and demeanour towards opposition and officials, is always respectful.
He also gives his time to assist in coaching an All-Abilities group of players at Eagle Stadium on Tuesday afternoons. I doubt that many of his Stingray team mates are aware of this but I think it says a lot about the calibre of person he is and the value he puts on helping others.
For the reasons I have outlined above I think Elijah would be a very worthy recipient of the Dave Abel award.” 

A very deserving recipient we think. Congratulation Elijah, you should be very proud of yourself. 

All our award winners will feature shortly on our website: www.standrewsbc.com.au/awards/ – keep an eye out for an update! 

As a committee, although putting on these days takes a lot of time, effort and planning, we love seeing how much fun the kids have and how proud they are to receive their awards. We volunteer our time so all kids, not just our own, can play basketball and celebrate their achievements with their friends and families. We thank the parents, grandparents and family members for bringing their kids to training each week, and their games and club events like presentation day. 

We hope you all had as much fun as we did, and we can’t wait to see everyone together again soon! 

We’d like to give a big shoutout to our sponsors & partners who assisted us with putting on this great event. Let’s all support them and give them some love in return: 

Bakers Delight Manor Lakes & Hoppers Crossing www.bakersdelight.com.au 

Ralphs Meats www.ralphs.com.au  

Hoppers Physio www.hoppersphysio.com.au/ 

Strike Bowling  www.strikebowling.com.au/ 

Cake Creations by Kate www.cakecreationsbykate.com.au/ 

Tempset Refrigeration & Air Conditioning www.tempset.com.au/ 

Xtreme Part Hire www.xtremepartyhire.com.au/ 

Chalk Coffee Roasters www.chalkcoffee.com.au 

Mr QuickWhip www.mrquickwhip.com.au