SUPPORTING UKRAINE
TYMOR SHOOTING FOR THE STARS
TEN-year-old Tymor really loves basketball – and his new teammates are more than happy to have him on their side.
When Tymor fled war-torn Ukraine with his mother Larysa and came to Australia in May on a humanitarian visa, he refused to leave his old ball behind, deflating it and jamming it in his backpack.
After the family arrived in Hobart, the Eastern Shore’s Dominoes basketball club worked with the Ukraine Society to place Tymor on a junior team.
With a brand-new ball under his arm, Tymor was thrilled to play his first game at Warrane Stadium recently.
“Tym came along to training, and then decided to watch the first game sitting on the bench with everyone,” team coach Tristan Heffernan said.
“After that he was pumped. He played his first game the following weekend, and played as much as any of the other boys. He did a good job.
“He has fit in really well with the rest of the team. He has dived straight in and the other boys have been really good, looking to pass him the ball and give him a pat on the back when he gets a shot in.
“This roster is nearly finished but he’s keen to play again next season, and hopefully stay with these boys for that roster as well.”
The club plans to continue to support Tymor and Larysa, including looking to purchase him some new basketball boots ahead of the spring roster starting in September.
BRONZE FOR OUR JORDAN
HARD WORK PAYS OFF
RISING Eastern Shore basketball star Jordan Peel has set his sights on higher honours after returning with a bronze medal from last month’s Under 18 National Championships in Ballarat. Jordan has played with the Dominoes Basketball Club for almost a decade and has been part of the Basketball Tasmania Future and State Development Programs since he was in Under 12s. He always dreamed of playing for Tasmania, and made the most of it when he finally got the opportunity last month. The 16-year-old, 187cm shooting guard delivered his best performance in the tournament’s opening game against WA Country on April 10, contributing 11 points, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks. “It was a great experience, I loved it,” Jordan said. “It was good to test myself against some of the best players in the country, which I haven’t been able to do before because of Covid.
I was happy with how I went. It was about knowing your role and playing a team game, and we all contributed and gelled together perfectly.” While the Tasmanian team came away from the event with a bronze medal, the result could easily have been even better. The side went through its preliminary games undefeated, before facing Queensland South in the semi-final for a spot in the gold medal game. The thrilling match was tied at the end of regulation, only for the Tassie team to suffer a heartbreaking two-point loss in overtime. Queensland South went on to defeat Victoria in the final and win the gold medal. “It was a tough shot to go down to, and we thought we would have matched up pretty well against Victoria if we had made it,” Jordan said. “But then we thought we owed it to ourselves and to Tasmania to go out and win the bronze medal.”
Jordan is now training with the Hobart Chargers, and hopes to eventually play in the national NBL1 competition. But he’s also making his mark off the court, refereeing matches and coaching an Under 14 boys team. “I love giving back to the basketball community,” he said. “It’s good to help develop the next generation of kids, and I love seeing their passion for the game.”
Eastern Shore Sun - July 2019
A sporting family like no other
OVER the Queen’s Birthday long weekend, Eastern Shore-based team Dominoes Basketball Club travelled to Launceston to compete in Basketball Tasmania’s annual event, the Launceston Classic.
Represented by two teams, the Dominoes Thunder team was successful in winning its age group division.
The Dominoes Thunder team is a group of eight and nine-year olds who have been coached by Shaun Skelly for the past three years.
Mr Skelly said he entered the team in the under 12 division three roster for the 2019 Hobart domestic competition to provide them with more experience and challenges than the under 10 roster.
“After three games we got moved up to division two and we’re still doing really well – we currently sit first on the ladder and can’t get knocked off first spot before finals,” he said.
To help continue with the team’s development, Mr Skelly entered it in the under 10 division 1 competition in the Launceston Classic, the team’s proper age group.
Playing against teams from Burnie, Devonport and Launceston, the Dominoes Thunder managed to go through the competition undefeated, beating the Launceston Devils by one point in the grand final.
“They knew it was going to be tough up there, knew they had to step up because the teams would be a lot tougher, and every game they just grew and grew,” Mr Skelly said.
“We’ve got a really good mix of boys and they just work really well as a team.
“They play good team roles, know what their job is and do it really well.”
Having coached junior basketball for the past eight years, Mr Skelly said he enjoyed watching the players improve and that the team now had a lot of potential for the future.
“These boys have been together for about three years now and watching the improvement from then compared to where they are now is unbelievable,” he said.
“It makes me feel very proud as a coach to watch how far they have come.”
Nine-year-old player Rhys Joseph-Skelly said winning the grand final was a great feeling.
“We all felt geared up to go, and the team did really well to get a big enough score at the end,” he said.
Eight-year-old Ryan Lamprey was excited to win the grand final with the team.
“What I like about the team is that I have friends that help me out and encourage me when I struggle,” he said.
“Shaun is a great, enthusiastic, hardworking, and ‘if we do something wrong he’ll make us do push-ups’ type of coach.”
The Dominoes Basketball Club also recently received a grant from the Premier and Liberal Member for Franklin, Will Hodgman, for the purchase of new uniforms.
“Grant money, donations, sponsorship and the like are what allows us to obtain more for our players,” Dominoes Basketball Club president Daniel Ogg said.
“This grant has provided us with the financial need to cover half a team with new uniforms, which offsets the club requirement to outlay the full amount.
“It will allow us to have more children playing on courts as we can provide more uniforms for our players.”
Dominoes Basketball Club is the largest club on the Eastern Shore with 29 teams and 250 playing members in 2019.
It is a grassroots club that provides children and families with an avenue to be part of a community-spirited, family-friendly and warm environment.
For more information, contact dominoesbasketballclub@gmail.com or like the Dominoes Facebook page.