A NUMBER of the Shoalhaven Basketball Association's top players were recognised for their efforts on the hardwood in 2019, at their recent presentation held at the Bomaderry Bowling Club on Saturday evening.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Luke Royston was named Representative Coach of the Year, while Ian Ozolins, coach of the Waratah League division one men's side, took out the Senior Club Person of the Year award.
Amanda Volpatti claimed Junior Club Person of the Year honours as Julia McMillan was named as the Junior Representative Referee of the Year.
Ben Morris and Emma Drury, who both shone on the court, were named Senior Male and Junior Female Players of the Year respectively.
The under 12 boys Shoalhaven Tigers were unveiled as the Ryan Walsh Team of the Year, as nonet Jack Callaghan, Marcus Gallant, James Hurley, Zac Kennewell, Jamaal Mcrae-Hurdle, Jai Styles, Daniel Xiao, Emma Drury and Olivia Hodgkins were all acknowledged as graduating players from the junior representative program.
The final association award presented on the night was the inaugural Kane Gattringer Tiger Award, which went to Corey Walker.
Before Walker was presented with the award, the following statement, written by a SBA member, was readout by MC Rohan Bullock to all in attendance.
"The week after Kane's passing was an extremely difficult week for everyone who knew Kane, none more evident than on the Wednesday junior competition, we all knew this day was going to be difficult and tried to put in place measures to make the afternoon comforting and supportive to our young members and friends of Kane.
"Out of the darkness of that day came light in the form of team mates supporting team mates.
"The young person I nominate for this award is full of life, I know that if Kane were still here with us these two characters would be great friends.
"I am unsure if in fact this player ever played with Kane, but I see that cheeky sense of humour, the love of basketball, the competitive nature they both share.
"This young person was a good friend on that Wednesday where team mates and friends were visibly saddened, sticking by friends that day offering support.
"It was this day that I saw this young person not as that fun-loving cheeky basketballer but as a true friend supporting mates.
"If this member is our future of embodying the Tiger Spirit, showing tenacity, a fun sense of humour, having a competitive nature and being a true loyal friend then I have done my best in nominating this player in the inaugural Kane Gattringer Award.
"May Kane's memory live on through this young person and all who follow."
The evening saw certain players from every Tigers representative side recognised with team awards.
In the two under 12 boys sides, awards went to Toby Royston (MVP), James Speer (Coach's Award), Harry Frew (Most Consistent), Alex Field (MVP), Tyler Blandin De Chalain ( Coach's Award) and Brayden Daly (Most Improved) - as Zalie Morris (MVP), Grace Armstrong (Most Improved) and Chloe Holloway (Coach's Award) took out the under 12 girls prizes.
The six under 14 boys recipients were Azriel McMillan (Most Consistent), Harry Petre (Most Improved), Keegan Feehan (Coach's Award), Alfred Howard (Player's Player), Taris Bautler (Coach's Award) and Harry Wood (Most Improved).
Jorja Frew (Most Improved), Layla Volpatti (Coach's Award) and Kate Leung (All Rounder) were acknwledged for their play in the under 14 girls side, as were Dakota Caliskan-Yates (Best Defensive Player), Madalyn Owen (Coach's Award) and Jess Hatley (Most Improved) in the under 16 girls.
Jack Lopes (MVP), Peter Brown (MVP), Ben Royston (MVP), Tom Speed (Impact Player), Prsen Grose Jones (Most Improved) and Riley Cox (Coaches Award) were recognised in the under 16 boys - with Jai Styles (MVP), Jack Callaghan (Defensive Award) and Zac Kennewell (Most Improved) starred for the under 18 boys.
The three youth Barrengarry men's award went to Corey Walker (True Spirit Award), Marcus Gallant (Most Improved) and Jamaal McRae-Hurdle (Rock Solid Award).
Finally, in the three senior Waratah League teams, nine different players stood out for the black and golds - including Riley O'Shannessy (Coaches Award), Brayden Morris (Defensive Player of the Year) and Gavin Costain (Don't Count Me Out Award).
While in the division one teams, the women's award went to Charlotte Balzer (Rookie), Carla Balsar (Coach's Award) and Mary-Jane Toole (Team Leadership), as the men's were claimed by Bruce Ozolins (MVP), Dane Jensen (Most Improved) and Joel Smith (Encouragement Award).