After two years of disruptions due to Covid, Basketball New Zealand’s (BNNZ) Junior National Programme is back on track in 2022 – as New Zealand looks to re-stablish itself on the basketball world stage in age group competitions.
This year has seen the welcome return to international play of the New Zealand Under 18, Under 17 and Under 15 age group men’s and women’s national teams. The U17 men’s and women’s teams had success at their respective FIBA Asia Championships earlier this year – both qualifying for the FIBA U17 World Cup – while the U18 Women’s squad prepares to head to India next month for the FIBA U18 Women’s Asia Championship. And in November, the men’s and women’s U15 teams will fly to Guam for the U15 FIBA Oceania Championships.
BBNZ National Pathways Manager, Mel Downer says that having teams compete in these international age group tournaments is vital for New Zealand basketball; not just for the player’s individual growth but as a way to strengthen the national team programme as a whole.
“It’s got really far-reaching impacts, obviously the junior national programme is designed to underpin our senior national team program, so in that regard it really starts to prepare those athletes for senior international competition, what to expect and how to best prepare for that,” says Downer.
“From a personal point of view for those athletes, it can really start to change the trajectory of their career, putting them on a path to professional contracts – college scholarships and the like, and it helps them work out where they sit in the greater basketball landscape and what they need to do to continue their development. So from that point of view, it’s really useful to help them realise future dreams and what they’re trying to achieve with their lives.”
Downer says that as the sporting sector continues to adapt to life under Covid and the challenges it continues to present, she has been impressed with the resilience of the organisation, the support staff and its athletes.
“The difference with Covid has been that we’ve had to operate under really tight timeframes, and it has often been geographically difficult to try and get people together for selection and preparation camps. Just the act of getting teams onto planes to go to overseas events is so much harder now than it ever used to be; and as always, we have a duty to protect these kids and make sure we’re doing everything we can to keep them safe and healthy while on tour.
“So the fact we’ve been able to work within those timelines and deal with the increased costs and strict conditions of travelling due to Covid, and then these age group teams have been able to compete on the world stage – not just turn up but actually do really well considering all the disruption that we’ve had – shows that we’re able to once again made a mark on the basketball world stage.
“It’s been really impressive and shows a lot of mana by the coaches and the athletes involved to be able to do that, considering the circumstances.”
Downer now prepares to leave for Australia, where she will take up a High Performance position in Adelaide. Although she has seen a lot of her time with the Junior National Team impacted by Covid since she started in 2019, she is proud to leave the Junior National Team program in ‘a good place’ and with strong roots for future growth.
“The programme really relies on the coaching staff and the support staff involved, and the thing we can all be most proud of is that we’ve got a real cohort and depth of coaching staff – who can guide and prepare our athletes for these international events. That’s something I’m proud of and I’m glad we’ve been able to get the program in a place where we feel comfortable the people involved are capable and have the capacity needed to really help these athletes.”
Downer says that the drive to help people realise her dreams has been the backbone of her enjoyment in the role.
“It’s a big part of my why I coach and administer in sport, is that I really enjoy helping people; seeing people develop and to realise their dreams and goals – even those goals they didn’t know could achieve!
“That gives me a sense of pride and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to work with so many amazing people. Especially our Member Associations, we couldn’t do what we do without them; what they do for the athletes and how they’ve been able to pull together in times of need that has been really amazing to be a part of.”
Despite the move overseas, Downer will continue in her role as Assistant Coach for the Tall Ferns, with plans underway for the women’s national team to return to action later this year.
