A Message From the Club President

Seasons Greetings,

First up (in case you don’t make it to the end) I want to wish all our families a wonderful Christmas break and hope it is a safe, relaxing and enjoyable time for everyone. We are a wonderfully diverse Club, with families from many different backgrounds, cultures and traditions, and I know the festive season will look very different from household to household. Whatever you’re doing, and however you’re doing it, I hope it’s full of regeneration, laughter and good company, and that we see you all back ready to play in early 2026.

One of the things I love most about being part of the mighty Wattle Park Saints is how low the threshold for membership is, you just need to want to play basketball. That’s it. No matter where you’re from, how long you’ve been playing, your size, gender, who you know, or what school you go to, everyone is welcome.

Basketball has a special way of bringing people together. On any given game day you’ll find our players, who might otherwise have never cross paths outside the team they are in, working hard side by side, learning to trust each other, celebrating small wins and picking each other up after tough moments. In a world that throws up many challenges and seems to foster isolation, that sense of belonging, of being part of something, really matters.

I want to say a huge thank you to all our volunteers — our coaches, team managers, AGCs and committee members. You are the people who make this Club work. You give your time, energy and patience week after week, often behind the scenes and on top of already busy lives. What you do matters, and the impact you have reaches well beyond the court. 

To our families, thank you for all the driving, finding lost water bottles, returning to collect a left ball, somehow having a clean uniform available for every game but most of all for the constant positive encouragement. Community sport only works when families lean in, and we are incredibly fortunate to have such a supportive group around our players.

And to our sensational players, you are our Club. This season I watched a couple of games where the team only had 4 players. As you might expect the game was a struggle. The ball was constantly getting turned over, shooting was difficult, by 10 minutes in it looked like the halfway point in a marathon. The players just kept going and trying their best. When I spoke to the young junior coach he just said smiling, “at least we got to play.” You don’t always get things playing out as you might hope but it’s about making the most of what you cannot control. They all came to play a game together and they did. Those moments are why community sport matters.

As we head into the break, I would encourage everyone to work on keeping those important basketball skills developing. With less time on those distracting platforms there will be plenty of additional time to get some ball-time in. Basketball doesn’t need an app or a login. A ball, a bit of space and a few minutes here and there is more than enough.

Some opportunities might include:

• A few minutes of ball handling in the driveway or backyard each day. Just having a ball in hand really helps;
• Shooting at a local hoop at the park or local school yard or even aiming for a chalk mark on a wall;
• Passing with a sibling, parent or friend (pets are optional but can be unpredictable);
• Watching basketball – try and watch some games – NBA or NBL are great but if you have access to YouTube there is the NCAA or even high school game available. Watching how good players play is great for learning and good on a wet day.
• Or just playing a casual game at the park — no drills, no pressure, just fun

Playing pick-up or just shooting around at a local hoop is a great way to meet someone new, challenge your skills, and realise basketball really is a shared language. The goal over the break isn’t to become the next superstar, it’s to keep enjoying the game. Confidence comes from familiarity, and familiarity
comes from time with the ball. If you can come back from break a better shooter by just a few % it’s been a great break. Your coach will be very happy too.

As the year winds down, I hope everyone gets a chance to slow things down, reconnect and recharge. Please stay safe, look after one another, and try to avoid any holiday injuries – we want you back fit and keen ready to hit those boards.

Thank you for being part of the Wattle Park Saints community. It’s a privilege to be involved in a Club where basketball is more than a game — it’s the way we connect, include and grow together. I look forward to seeing you all in 2026.

Shayne La Combre
Club President

Go Saints - Brave True One

In this Edition 

Supporting Community Coaches

Team First Leadership session

Players Needed

Ice and First Aid Reminder

Home Loan Health Check

School Holiday Basketball Camps

Thank You to Our Sponsors

Junior Coach Community Bank Special Offer

Uniform Update

Dates to Remember

Supporting Community Coaches

Wattle Park Saints recently sponsored our coaches to attend the Basketball Victoria Community Coaching course. We had a fantastic turnout, with a full house of about 30 coaches there (pictured below). All coaches who participated are now officially accredited as Community Coaches with Basketball Victoria, helping to develop our coaches and support our teams.

Team First Leadership Session  

We have a fantastic development session coming up for our players and Junior Coaches. The session is on leadership and will be professionally delivered by Salt Sport and Life Training (SALT), with thanks to the generous support from the Bendigo Bank.

Date: 21 January 2026 

Time: 7.30pm - 8.30pm

Location: Nunawading Basketball Centre, Burwood Highway 

Please register your attendance: RSVP here

Players Needed

U17/19 Saturday Girls

Our U17.2 Saturday girls team is in need of an extra player or two. They are a wonderful, welcoming group, currently with 5 players on the team. If you or someone you know would like to join the team, please contact AGC Brad Cahill at Brad.Cahill@woodplc.com.

Ice and First Aid Reminder

A reminder to teams regarding the provision of both ice and first aid supplies. As per Nunawading Basketball Association’s Junior Domestic Competition Rules & By-Laws,  it is the individual team’s responsibility to ensure they have a supply of instant icepacks at all games to provide to their players in case of injury. Any venue where ice packs are available will only be provided for an injury.  Venues are not equipped with first aid kits or medical staff. It is recommended that each team carry a first aid kit to all matches.

Home Loan Health Check 

Thank you to our valued sponsor Community Bank Inner East for their incredible support of our Club.

Kate Bellamy from the Bendigo Bank shares an overview (below) of what exactly is a 'Home Loan Health Check' and how it is done. Email  Kate to organise your free check today! 

School Holiday Basketball Camps

Once again, our sponsors International Sports Camps are offering a great deal for Wattle Park Saints families on their fantastic 3 day basketball programs over the summer holidays. Save 30% by booking now at iscamps.com.au, using the code WS30.

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

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

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/ 

Junior Coaches Special Offer from Community Bank Inner East

Hey Junior Coaches! Don't forget that you are eligible for a $50 bonus when you open an account at the Community Bank. Check your inbox for details!

Uniform Update 

Families, just a friendly reminder to please return any loan uniforms to the Club Secretary when you can. This helps us keep our stock up to date and ensures we have enough items available for new players.

If you have recently placed an order for new uniforms and haven’t yet returned your loan items, please get in touch with our Uniform Coordinator so we can organise this smoothly.

Do you have an old Saints uniform that you no longer need? Then please donate it back to the Club! These are added to the Club's uniform stocks and are helpful to kit-out new players while they wait for their uniform order to arrive. This is a great way to upcycle outgrown basketball gear, while helping reduce quality items being sent to landfill.  

Please reach out via email if you have any uniforms to donate. 

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

Team First Leadership Session: 21 January 2026, 7.30pm - 8.30pm

Games Resume 2026:

Friday night: 30 January 2026 

Saturday: 31 January 2026

Monday night: 2 February 2026 

Friday night Grand Final: 27 March 2026

Saturday Grand Final: 28 March 2026    

Monday night Grand Final: 30 March 2026

Fixtures can be found on the Wattle Park Saints website.

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