PORTLAND’S basketball community is extremely fortunate to be supported by many devoted and knowledgeable players, coaches and officials, and the Portland Observer believes that those who have given up their time to develop and grow the sport at a junior level deserve recognition for their efforts.

Aaron Lindsey has this season put his hand up once again to coach at the junior level, taking the helm of Portland Coasters’ under-12 boys’ team, and he told the Observer it’s the continuation of a near life-long involvement with basketball in many different capacities.

“I first started playing basketball when I was about six… I made my way through the juniors here in Portland,” Lindsey said.

“I had the opportunity when I was 17 or 18 to travel to America to play against some high school teams over there, and after that I played quite extensively with the Coasters over a number of years.

“I’ve had the opportunity to coach the Coasters’ men’s team at various points… and I’ve also worked with the committee at times.

“I first started doing juniors a number of years back… it started with the under-12s and from there I made my way up through the age brackets up to under-18s.”

After that, Lindsey took a break from coaching basketball for “seven or eight years,” and over that time was asked on numerous occasions to come back to use his expertise to develop another generation of young basketballers.

“I’d been asked for a number of years to return to coaching, but I just wasn’t quite ready yet,” he said.

“But I was asked against last year, and with COVID having gone through I thought it would be a good chance to lean back into it, and I got the under-12 boys last year and again this year.

“I absolutely love being a part of the program again… being able to help develop the next generation of Portland basketballers.

“Especially at that younger age bracket where the fundamentals of the game are key… it’s a level of basketball that’s been good for me to jump back into… both because I enjoy coaching at that level but also because it’s given me a bit of grounding after a while out of the game.”

He added that not only has he hoped to help the juniors under his guidance improve and develop as players, but also it has developed his understanding of the game and reinforced his knowledge of how to go about coaching.

He went as far as saying that the enjoyment he has gotten out of the role made him question why he ever left it in the first place.

“I definitely realised how much I missed it when I came back… I love basketball so much, all through my playing days I hated missing games,” Lindsey said.

“When I got out it was nice to have a break, but when I came back, I thought ‘what have I been missing here?’”

“It’s an incredibly rewarding experience coaching junior basketball… when the kids do something exactly the way you’ve asked for them to do or they use a new skill.

“Seeing them develop the confidence to try new things on the court… that has to be one of the best parts of the whole experience.

“The thing I always try to remember is that every player in my team is unique, regardless of the age or skill level that I’m coaching at.

“Rather than just taking a blanket approach to the job I try and tailor my coaching to what I think each player most needs.”

Lindsey said the numerous tournaments that the Coasters are involved in across southwest Victoria and even across the border into South Australia are a great benchmark for how each side is progressing.

But he also added that the real progress and improvement comes from the training sessions they run throughout the week.

“If you’re not doing the right things at training then the tournament results and performance will reflect that… but from the early stages of the season up to the state championships, the level of improvement you see is incredible,” Lindsey said.

“Sometimes it can feel like we’re not making progress at various stages, but at some point, things click.

“It’s not so much about the results though, that’s secondary to watching the kids work on their game.”

There’s a great deal of responsibility which comes with coaching basketball at a junior level, especially with the knowledge that the promotion of the game to the younger generation is integral to ensuring that basketball continues to thrive at a community level.

It’s a responsibility which Lindsey takes seriously, as he knows that the under-12s level is some kids’ very early introduction to the game itself.

“I know how important it is to get off on the right foot having played at a very young age myself,” Lindsey said.

“I have to give a lot of credit to Greg Morrissey… he’s done so much work with the junior kids, and there’s so many others as well that I haven’t mentioned… they all do a great job down there.

“I think it goes beyond basketball as well… you see the kids seven or eight years down the track, and often times they remember everything but the basketball, the memories they create off the court are what really matter.”