BATHURST Goldminers women are making the jump back up to State League after spending some time in Youth League, signalling the return of some experienced basketballers.
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Leaving Youth League, with an age cut-off of 21, has allowed Teagan Burke to return as both a player and assistant coach for the team.
Jo Cafe has also returned once again to coach the team, which has already amassed an impressive 18-strong squad at this stage, giving the impression that numbers will not be an issue like they were at times this year.
Eight players have been retained from this year’s Youth League side.
Cafe believes all the changes point to a positive season ahead for an older Goldminers squad.
“We had a few older girls who wanted to play. Teagan Burke was one of them and there were a few other experienced players who were interested as well. They couldn’t play Youth League because of the age cut-off so that’s why we’ve moved up,” she said.
“The strength of players like Teagan help bring in other strong players. She’s one of those players who can teach a lot to the others. Alicia Booth is another one of those returning players, one who hasn’t played much in representative teams since her juniors.”
Cafe will be keen to see that experience plays its part for a team who in this year’s Youth League didn’t achieve the results they were capable of in the competition.
The Goldminers ended the season with just four wins from their 16 games after a positive start to the season came apart.
A new competition also brings with it a tighter schedule, ending earlier to allow any US college players – such as Haylee Lepaio – a chance to play finals basketball should the Goldminers progress to that stage.
Making the switch allows the team to fill some of the areas where they were lacking over the past season, according to Cafe.
“Watching these girls play in their local junior competitions at the moment shows that they’ve learned a lot over the past season. There were things that we were trying to do as a team that took a long time to get embedded but they’re there now,” she said.
“There’s not so much height coming in now but there’s certainly some really strong players.
“There’s a lot more maturity out there on the court though with these older players.”