"The most populated sport at the school"

The Captain's Report - 1st V

Basketball at St Thomas has been growing rapidly over the past few years, this year it has become the most populated sport at the college. St Thomas is now known in the basketball scene and is contending well in the top level competitions at various age levels. 

It was a difficult season for the 1st 5, last year’s team winning the Tuesday night division two competition gave us a spot in division 1. It was a difficult step up for the team after losing a majority of the core players from last year, but it has been a great experience for everyone in the team playing at such a high level against the top schools in Christchurch. This season was a tough learning curve for the players and our coach Neville Brooker but overall we held our own and have really proved ourselves as a top level team. 

It has been a privilege to captain the 1st 5 team this year, this opportunity has helped me grow as a leader and a team member. I am very proud of the team this year, even though we may not be as successful as we hoped on game day, I have seen a group of young men who have the hunger and desire to win and improve to become a better team. 

This attitude is something that I believe will not only help the team now but also for the team and players in many years to come. Thank you to Mr. Neville Brooker for putting aside countless hours to coach us and help us become better players. Thank you to Mr. Brad Milne for managing the team and organising everything for us, and thank you to all the people that came to support each week. I am looking forward to playing again next year and I am excited for the future of basketball at St Thomas.

Isaac Beever - Captain 

Basketball - Under 17 Report

2016 proved to be a huge step in Basketball for the College. This was the first year an U17 team had been introduced to play on Saturdays as opposed to the majority of teams that play on Friday nights. The team consisted of a range of players, from our youngest player being Arnil Pasaylo in Year 10 and our oldest being Noah Gosling in Year 12. Our season had its ups and downs and coming up to the middle grade from the bottom grade gave us more competition and close games. 

Overall, it was a great season for the first U17 STC Basketball team and I believe a lot of us developed our skills in this team which will be beneficial to those moving up to a higher level in the 1st V next year. A huge thank you goes out to Neville Brooker firstly for his continuous support and coaching aid throughout the season. Another huge thanks to our Coach Nick Kwant who sacrificed his own time to come and coach this team all year. It has been a privilege captaining this team for 2016 and I am excited to see what the future holds for the talented young basketballers in next year's U17 team.

Earl Baua