Aidan Curtis
MOUNT Gambier High School students had a rare opportunity to learn from the state’s best, with the school hosting an Adelaide 36ers basketball clinic on Thursday afternoon.
The clinic, which came through the school’s involvement in the XVenture Schools Program, saw Adelaide 36ers players engage with students and help them build their basketball skills.
Students were put through their paces by the professional players, with everything from shooting and passing to teamwork and set plays, featured in the clinic.
Year 9 student Holly and Year 10 student Leigh said it was great to be learning skills from professional players.
“We’ve learned how to dribble, we’ve learned how to shoot with proper form,“ Holly said.
“It’s pretty good, it’s helped with my game.“
“It’s been helping me get used to helping the team more, not relying on myself as much,“ Leigh said.
“It’s helped us recognise what skills and what traits we should look towards in the game of basketball, to help not just yourself but everyone else.“
The students also had a familiar face helping to run the clinic, with Adelaide 36ers gun recruit and Mount Gambier Pioneers player Nick Marshall taking a few of the drills.
Mr Marshall said it was cool to return to Mount Gambier in 36ers colours and to pass on some knowledge to younger players.
His main bit of advice for the students was to make sure they were just having fun.
“If you’re not having fun, it probably isn’t the sport for you,“ he said.
“It’s cool to come back and put a clinic on here at the high school.
“If they’re passionate about basketball, it’ll give them someone to really look up to and it’s cool to come back and show that it is possible.“
Mount Gambier High School basketball program teacher Jess Kennedy was pleased to see the clinic run so well after around six months of organising to bring the players to the school.
“In terms of classroom stuff, the kids have been working on their theory tasks, which is all provided by [XVenture],“ Ms Kennedy said.
“This is really just icing on the cake for them to have experience with players, it’s why you teach, for moments like this.
“It’s very fulfilling to see this happen for them, it’s exciting.“
She said she hoped the clinic would inspire the students to keep working hard in the next 14 weeks of the program.
“It gives them some inspiration to attack it with some intensity,“ she said.
“It’s all about developing resilience and learning how to display leadership skills and communicate effectively.
“For younger generations, that stuff is invaluable so it’s a great program and we’re very happy to be rolling it out here at Mount Gambier High.“
