While I was away on holidays this year I had plenty of time to cast my mind back at the years of basketball I played. In particularly thought about the people that made a positive impact in the way I played the game. The people that believed in me, the people that disciplined me and stood up for me. So I thought it was important for me to say thank you to these people.
Coach Jerry Miller
Nothing I can put down in this article can ever do justice for what coach Miller means to my life. Both on and off the court. I am the basketball player and person I am today because of all the life lessons I learnt during my time at Solano community college.
Coach Miller taught me how to play basketball from scratch. His patience in teaching me the basics of defence helped me improve a massive weakness in my game. Not only were the lessons I got from coach Miller related to basketball most of them have transcended into my personal life. The competitiveness and focus I have with my career is attributed to coach Millers teachings.
As I said previously, I can’t express how much coach Miller has made an impact in my life.
Tony Harris
I first met Tony when I came back from college in USA and wanted to get into a competitive league and team. Tony was the head coach of the Melbourne Tigers MMBL team, which I joined and played two seasons years under him.
From the start Tony was a great support base and allowed me to play my game. To date I have never had a more supportive coach! Tony allowed me to make mistakes and made sure I learnt from them. His coaching techniques matured my basketball brain and helped me gain confidence.
Not only did he make a big impact on me but also he did a great job at getting a cohesive team together. Multiple strengths but a young team with a whole heap of inexperience best describe the team. Yet Tony was able to bring us together and we were constantly in the top 4 on the ladder.
Thank you Tony! Playing under you were the happiest times playing basketball and the best memories.
Bart Strzebonski
Barty and I used to work out 4 to 5 days a week playing 1 on 1 in the Melbourne Tigers North Melbourne training court. Working out with Bart I was able to work on my offensive skills but more importantly my defensive skills. If you could stay in front of Bart you could stay in front of anyone. Bart was super quick with a deadly accurate pull up jumper.
Thanks Barty for being a great workout partner, if it weren’t for our workouts I wouldn’t have improved as much as I did.
Simon Kerle
My first interaction with Simon wasn’t a great one. I got my ass kicked for not fouling a guy going for an open layup to win the game. Yep, we were playing pick up ball and I didn’t understand the concept of playing hard to the last second. Up until I met Simon I was a passive player who’d never think about fouling another purposely.
Scrimmaging with Simon and interacting with him changed me so much. Working out with him I learnt to be a hard-nosed player and to hustle after every ball. Play the game of basketball as if your life depended on it. Great thing about Simon was that he was quick to give me advice even after the first few minutes of us meeting. He’d always game me advice in particular situations, which I took on board, and still use to this day.
Thanks Simon for being a mentor and showing me how to play a tough style of basketball, which I thoroughly enjoyed.
Jason Ferriere
I really need a whole post on Jason because I can’t speak highly enough of this guy. By far he is the nicest basketball player ever! So much talent yet it hasn’t got to his head.
Jase and I became friends and workout partners in 2001. I was introduced to him by a couple of my Waverly teammates. Jase at the time was playing for the opposition team; the Ringwood Hawks. Instantly Jase and I hit it off then for years we used to schedule 1on1 training sessions at Dandenong stadium.
The great thing about Jase was he was a competitor and boy was our workouts intense. I enjoyed every moment of this. Eventually Jase got a scholarship to play basketball in USA an I lost a training partner. I was really happy for him as he deserved to go to college.
Although I did enjoy ballin with Jase the best part was the conversations we had before and after basketball. What a friendship! Thanks Jase for all the great basketball and long chats.
Shane Heal
Like Simon Kerle I met Shane Heal during NBL off-season scrimmage. Like Simon I learnt a lot from Shane about playing hard. But the greatest thing I learnt from hammer is to be fearless on court. Don’t be afraid to throw your weight around and never take crap from anyone.
When Shane offered advices I was all ears. The “don’t take crap from anyone” comment inspired me to get into the gym and get some muscle on my frame. So, if needed I can throw my weight around and bruise some bodies. Even now at my height I do sit fairly heavy for a basketball player purely because I want to play hard without getting pushed around.
Hammer, thanks for the lesson in attitude, it is in the latter part of my basketball career that I truly appreciated what you thought me.
Andrew Gaze
In the beginning Andrew and I didn’t get along, I don’t think Andrew had a very good first impression of me, as he didn’t believe that I should be on court. Eventually a healthy friendship was forged when he saw how hard I used to work outside of scrimmages and trainings. Yes, I was far away from the standard of a NBL player but after a few good training sessions Andrew welcomed me as a fellow basketball player.
I was lucky enough to work out with him in the mornings getting some shooting in. What I particularly treasure about the friendship was the conversations I had with him after training. Andrew is a well ok basketball knowledge and tapping into his experience made me grow.
Unfortunately my time at the Tigers was littered with turbulent times. At times it was really hard and affected me dramatically. In one instance I had an altercation with a junior program coach where I was threatened to be thrown out of the Melbourne Tigers basketball program. When Andrew heard what happened he came in to bat for me and defended my place in the program. It was only because of him that I was able to continue training with the Tigers.
Andrew thank you so much for defending me. I don’t think I would have gone to college in USA to play basketball if I was thrown out of the Tigers program. That is why when I did play college I wore your number.
Al Westover
I used to call 5 times a day every day for over 5 weeks just to get a try out date for the Melbourne Tigers under 20’s team. Even though I made the bench of the 3rd team I was a Tiger and Al allowed me to use the training facilities and train with the under 20’s 1st and 2nd team.
If it wasn’t for Al allowing me to train with various teams within the Melbourne Tigers program I wouldn’t have been able to develop as a player. Having full access to the facilities and having the ability to scrimmage with quality basketball players accelerated the growth of my skills.
Thanks Al for being a great conversation piece about basketball and everything else. I appreciate you identifying my passion for basketball and recommending me to Tony. I also appreciate your generosity giving me great seats to NBL games as well as the free merchandise over the years in the program. Like you Melbourne Tigers has a special place in my heart.
There have been a load of positive influences during my time playing basketball but I wanted to highlight the most important in this article. To those whom made a positive impact on my life that I haven’t mentioned in this article I like to take this moment to thank you.
So who has helped you so far with your basketball? Parent? Coach? I’d love to know. Comment below and tell me.
