A Message From the Club President

Welcome to the mid-season break for Winter 2025! As the days begin to lengthen, I hope we are also leaving the worst of the “lurgi season” behind. It has been a challenging season for many, with illness and injuries impacting player availability across many of our teams and some having to play with the bare minimum. A heartfelt “get well soon” to all our players on the mend.

Thank you to every team that has gone above and beyond to avoid the dreaded walkover or forfeit. And special thanks to those players who have put their hand up to play extra games to help other teams get on the court. No one wants to cop the $150 penalty — but more importantly, we all want to see everyone playing.

If your team is ever short, it is a great idea to know the fill-in rules and have a plan to cover being short. You can find all the details here: https://www.wattleparksaints.org.au/fill-in-player-rules

Once we return from the break, we will be opening up Summer Season registrations. Please keep an eye out for yours! Early registrations really help us plan and organise teams. Unfortunately, late registrations make it hard to meet preferences, and this season we had several players we simply could not place.

Last week I had the privilege of attending the SALT Positive Coaching workshop. It was inspiring to see so many of our Wattle Park Saints coaching panel present, bringing such enthusiasm and passion. We were all reminded of the powerful impact that great coaching can have—not just in sport, but in shaping young people’s lives. 

I am incredibly proud of our coaches and their drive to improve, both as developers of basketball skill and as role models. If you are interested in coaching in the upcoming season (and I honestly can't think of a greater calling), please reach out to our Coaching Coordinator, Paul Kneebone, at wps-coaching@proton.me. He would love to hear from you.

A quick reminder about uniform requirements, which have caused some confusion lately. From now on, players must wear the correct, legal uniform, or risk a 2-point penalty per player out of uniform. There is some leniency during grading rounds due to order delays, but once the season proper begins, correct uniforms are non-negotiable. Please note: shorts with pockets are not permitted under any circumstances, as they pose an injury risk. Even if you have been permitted to wear them in the past, they are not acceptable. https://www.wattleparksaints.org.au/uniforms

Save the Date – we have our End of Season Presentation set for Sunday 21 September. More details to follow soon.

Wishing everyone a safe, fit, and fun second half of the season.

Shayne La Combre
Club President

Go Saints - Brave, True, One

In this Edition 

Call for Nominations for Dick Menting Community Champion Award

SALT Positive Coaching Session 

Coaches Survey

Save the Date - Presentation Day

Profile of Perpetual Trophy Award Winner John Orr 

 International Sports Camps

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Uniform Update

Dates to Remember

Nominate Now: 2025 Dick Menting Community Champion Award

Do you know an individual who is making a significant contribution to our community?

Dick Menting was the Founding Chairman of Inner East Community Finance Limited which operates the Community Bank branches in Canterbury, Surrey Hills, Ashburton and Balwyn under a franchise agreement with Bendigo Bank.

Presented by Inner East Community Finance Limited, the Dick Menting Community Champion Award celebrates individuals who enhance the lives and wellbeing of others through community services or volunteer work.

Wattle Park Saints Basketball Club is looking for recommendations from our Saints family for a worthy individual for the Club to nominate for this important community award.  

More about the award:

Community organisations are encouraged to nominate an individual who deserves recognition for their contribution to their community. This may include the development of education, sporting, youth or community programs that promote understanding or provide support and positive outcomes for people in the community. The individual may have engaged local residents, brought people together, raised funds or increased community health and wellbeing

For more information or to recommend an individual for the Club to nominate, please contact Graeme Kelly on 0403 245 005 or email by 15 July 2025.

SALT Positive Coaching Session 

On Wednesday 2nd July we hosted the Positive Coaching session, presented by Sport and Life Training (SALT) and sponsored by Bendigo Community Bank.

The session was outstanding! Our presenter, Stephen, spoke about the impact of coaching with such inspirational passion. A big takeaway was just how important sports coaches are in the lives of young people.

Just as inspiring was the participation and engagement from the coaches who went to the session. We had about 30 attendees there, a mix of senior and junior coaches - it’s safe to say that we have very committed, high character people coaching at our club.

Without coaches, our teams and club cannot function, so we thank all our coaches for what you do. And we would love to have more coaches register - it’s a chance to inspire, learn and make an impact. And it's fun!

A bit of basketball knowledge helps, but you don't have to be an expert - we are developing a comprehensive set of training resources, to help our coaches to feel confident and supported.

To register for coaching next season, please complete the expression of interest form here. Give it a go! For questions, email Paul. 

Wattle Park Saints Coaches Survey

We’d love to hear about your experience coaching with Wattle Park Saints.

Coaches are an essential part of Wattle Park Saints basketball club - without you, our club cannot function. So, it's extremely important that we understand your experience and provide you with the support you need to be successful. All respondents are eligible to go into the draw to win a $50 or a $25 gift voucher. Please complete the survey online here.

Save the Date

Winter Season Presentation Day

Put a note in the diary for Sunday 21 September! Celebrate a brilliant Winter Season at our Presentation Day and 3x3 Tournament! Keep an eye out for more details coming soon.

Back by popular demand will be the mighty Saints Boot Muster and Second Hand Uniform Drive! These are a great way to upcycle outgrown but still wearable boots and uniforms, while raising funds for the Club. As always, many hands make light work so drop us an email if you can pitch in to help run these activities. 

Profile of John Orr, Kate Freestone Trophy Winner

This month we catch up with our current Kate Freestone Trophy winner. This  important award recognises a young player that has shown great determination in their playing and Club Spirit on and off the court. Congratulations John Orr on earning this terrific accolade!

John tells us that he was eight when he first joined the Wattle Park Saints. He loves playing basketball! He reports that his teammates have always been nice and encouraging, which is great to hear.

His most memorable game was when his teammate, Ben, scored a goal at the last second when they were down by one point. The team was ecstatic!

What makes a good player? The first word John said was “tall”, which he points out is the opposite of what he is. He also lists being a team player, showing good sportsmanship and resilience as key characteristics. Lastly, his advice to all new players is to “never give up” and to “have fun!”.

It is obvious what a team player John is from these insights and that a sense of fun and humour go a long way! Thanks John, keep up your great work.

International Sports Camps!

Once again our sponsors International Sports Camps are offering a great deal for Wattle Park Saints families on their 3 day basketball programs – save 30% by booking now at iscamps.com.au 

Players attending a camp these winter holidays may be lucky enough to be coached by a familiar face.  We are thrilled to announce that Saints Coaches Rhys Pratt, Aaryan Habib, Patrick Beard, Elouise Irlicht and Lillian Wang have all been recruited by International Sports Camps to coach in these popular holiday clinics. This a wonderful opportunity for our coaches to build on their existing skills in a new environment, as well as earn some handy holiday spending money. Thank you to International Sports Camps for this fabulous opportunity and congratulations coaches!  

Our Sponsors 

We are very grateful to our sponsors – thanks to these sponsors, we have been able to provide top-notch coaching and development, along with coaching kits to our young aspiring Junior coaches in our community.  This support has not only improved their confidence, leadership and basketball skills but also instils valuable life lessons around teamwork, discipline, perseverance. It's heartening to see this positive impact and how sponsorship makes a difference.

Thank You to Our Season Sponsors

Community Bank Inner East: We are thrilled to announce a partnership with the Community Bank Inner East, and would like to thank Community Bank Inner East for their support. Over $9.5 million dollars has been invested in the local community since 2003. This, and many other projects in our local community may not have happened without this support. We encourage you to consider the Community Bank for your banking needs.

Pizza & donuts : 668 Canterbury Rd Surrey Hills; www.pizzarepublica.com.au

The Prefurred Groomer:  https://theprefurredgroomer.com.au/

ABAX Accounting: Contact John Hearn jehearn@hotmail.com 

PICAC: A unique industry-led training centre with campuses located in Brunswick, Geelong and Narre Warren Contact: info@picac.edu.au 

Community Bank Inner East

Benetas is a leading not-for-profit provider of residential aged care, retirement living, respite, in-home and community services. 

Camberwell IGA : 1401 Toorak Road Camberwell

Everything's Connected Progressive Osteopathy : 734 Riversdale Road Camberwell 

International Sports Camps: https://iscamps.com.au/ 

Uniform update

For uniform enquiries, head to Uniforms@wattleparksaints.org.au

Share your game day pictures

We would love to receive any game pictures from our Monday, Friday and Saturday Teams, so we can celebrate the players, coaches and WPS community in Halo and on our Facebook & Instagram pages. 

We’re always on the lookout for any pictures of our players in action. You can send these to us at info@wattleparksaints.org.au or through Facebook (WattleParkSaints) using Messenger.

Make sure you let us know a little about the match and the players.

Close Action shots are great, team shots with Coaches are even better!

Dates for the diary

Saturday Games resume: Saturday 19 July (last Saturday in the School Holidays)

Monday Games resume: Monday 21 July

Friday Games resume: Friday 25 July

Monday night Elimination Final: 8 September

Friday night Elimination Final: 12 September

Saturday Elimination Final:13 September

Monday night Grand Final: 15 September

Friday night Grand Final: 19 September

Saturday Grand Final: 20 September

Presentation Day and 3x3 Tournament: Sunday 21 September

Look out for Summer Season registrations opening soon!

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