News

By Jenny Dixon

My coaching journey started just like all of the best things in life … unexpected and unpredictable.

I had been playing basketball since I was seven years old, it was always a safe space for me, an anchor, knowing I had my training session, and then the game on Saturday. I had been around the game for a long time and then my little brother started out as I turned 13. I went to every game just like all basketball fanatics. I couldn’t get enough of the sport, the thrill.

Watching his games, it was easy to see the quieter and the smaller players had been cast aside, my brother being one of them. The season ended and that team split up, leaving those underestimated kids without a coach.

When the parents asked if I wanted to step in, my instinct was to say no. I didn’t know these kids personally although I had been watching them play basketball every Saturday. I reluctantly said yes, and my journey began. Little did I know I’d coach these kids through finishing primary school to finishing high school.

It was the best chapter. This team went through many phases – from having an undefeated season, to experiencing many, many losses. But it wasn’t about those wins or even the games we lost, it was about how each one of those players grew confidence and formed a really wonderful team bond.

No player on the team was valued less than another. Everyone had their own strength, everyone had a role to play. Even if it was just cracking a joke at training, their presence mattered. That's what basketball can do for a kid.

During this time, I often found myself coaching two teams at once, and as much as it was about personal player growth and building a safe place on the court, I built my own community at basketball. When I turned 18, I became involved in venue supervising, where I met some of my closest friends. I was completing my VCE at the time, and knowing I was coming to basketball got me through. I continued my involvement through my university degree, too.

My brother's team finished up to complete their Year 12 exams, and he and another member from that team went on to coach together. I was also their team manager, and it was great to see them stepping into a coaching role. I joined the committee that year as well, and none of it ever felt like work to me. It was so rewarding being in that space and feeling a part of something that mattered.

That’s what coaching can do for someone. That’s what it can do for anyone.

PHOTO: Supplied.

• Jenny Dixon was a long-time junior basketball coach at Whitehorse Mustangs. She is the newest member of the Camberwell Dragons Big V Working Group and a valuable addition to the Camberwell Basketball Communications team. Look out for more of her work here in the future.