Heads rolling over U14s teams is a strong term and is a reason why youth sport has some of the worse people attached to it these days, get over yourself.

Its under 14 boys maybe look further down the chain as to the beginning of a programs pathway rather than the one right under your nose.

Heads surely will roll - I roll my eyes at people who think u14s basketball should be taken that seriously.

While I'm here I have a guess (as not from WA) that most of the coaches are volunteers or paid some rubbish attempt at covering costs with a Fulltime DoC and then we expect these casual parents/former players to give you a professional experience on an interns wage. Yet if you moved the needle on price for registration so the coach was actually paid for the hours they put in you'd all be crying that 'its too expensive we're pricing our players out of the game'

Honestly this rant has been building no doubt inside but can we either pay coaches by the hour at a top junior level and by the hour what they are deemed worth or just shut-up

There's a pandemic, calm down.

Anon 738 - I mean...really? The U14 nationals is a sensational tournament. Big stage, young kids, super keen parents, all that enthusiasm...

What's the outcome of anything?

* Kids get to represent their clubs rather than their states
* 14s is probably the only chance alot of these kids will get to play at a Nationals
* It is probably the most relaxed out of all the nationals and alot of great interstate friendships are made between players, coaches, supporters and officials alike
* 14s also allows BA to identify some of the future talent coming through for 15 Oceania Teams / 16s Asia & World Champs
* There is alot more merit for 14s than there is for Schools or even 20s Nationals. Look at some of the skill level and complete lack of depth in a large majority of the 20s teams this week and its just not there at this age group. Blame COVID all you want but it is rather embarrassing from a national level the low standard of play that there has been in Mackay

Could not agree more with post above. We have been with the club for ten years. Then to be fine out we were not in the Tournament because we were not on the fixtures, and nobody from the club saying anything to us is an absolute joke. Nobody from the board who made the decision even showed up to discuss why it had been made. Instead they send in the CEO as a scapegoat and then don't answer calls or emails. We still want answers as to why we weren't consulted about this. You promise these boys nationals appearances and we are the elite club in the state for elite junior development, than you do this crap. I look forward to personally seeing the demise of the arrogance, cockiness and lack of accountability that this club has become. We and alot of others will not be here come end of the wabl season and wouldn't even be here that long if we hadn't already paid fees.

Great post, but it doesn't sound as though logic and reason are welcome here

Side note: Willetton hasn't actually qualified for the tournament but as always just assumes they will. For too long 14As AJC has been the pinnacle at that club and I have watched the toll every year on parents and kids. Ever wondered why Willo always win everything in 12s & 14s WABL but after that are hit and Miss? Because AjC cooks a lot of people, starting with the kids... Let’s face it, 14s is largely just a race to puberty and if Willo has decided to focus their attention on all ages rather than just one then it has to be a good thing. If you can’t see that and think you are owed a trip to Melbourne to watch your kid come 9th and you will leave a club if you dont get it then it sounds like the problem lies with you not the club...

for poster above - host town / area always gets a wildcard entry if they want

Some funny comments here and I bet if you were bored enough you could find other similar threads about plenty of clubs. It is a classic pushy parent syndrome thinking that a big club needs your kid and not vice versa. As 871 said, they have a lot of 2s teams in championship division, so I don't think your 'mass exodus' will bring the club to its knees.

The reality is that the over the top reaction to Willetton's decision only further highlights the exact problem they needed to fix. Anyone who uses the word elite twice in a sentence when describing their 12yo's basketball club probably needs to check themselves and occasionally ask their kid if they had fun today.

A club built on glory at 14s obviously doesn't really set themselves up for much in terms of a pathway. For the first time it finally looks as though there is starting to be a strong connection between the juniors and seniors. They have added a 2nd women's D League team for their juniors to get a taste of playing seniors instead of just beating up on weaker clubs every 2nd week and have done similar with the mens (albeit in u20s). There is high level coaching available every day for those who want to do extra work. These are things that other clubs don't offer and I am sure that other clubs are striving to be able to deliver.

As someone at another club but with lots of friends at Willetton I have heard nothing but positivity about how the changes in the last year in terms of removing the old school Willo family influence and actually putting in place some proper structure to help the club get the best out of its great base of domestic players. Have they got everything right? Of course not, but have they got a lot more right than they got wrong and set themselves up to keep getting better? Absolutely.

So the comment that you'd be hard pressed to find anyone who has enjoyed the changes being put in place is just flat out wrong as far as I've heard. It probably comes from someone who has relied on friendships and family connections to get their way in the past and now their kid has to rely on their own talent and work ethic like everyone else. If you find that difficult to cop, then you'd better get that transfer and start making new friends who can get your kid into teams at your next club.

I don't think anything above explains why Willetton pulling out of the qualification tournament is a positive, especially after they campaigned to have it moved to this weekend from its originally planned date a month or so ago.

It's unlikely to go ahead due to COVID restrictions anyway, now.

Imagine Melb Tigers would have won a number of these - they tend to have strong u14 teams.

Hahahahaha

What about the 'powerhouse' Willetton? Are they up there judging by this carry on?

Melb Tigers we're v strong in the 80s! Looking at the list, not as strong in recent years - last won the boys side in 2010.

Still as KR has pointed out, it's been alot of people attacking the OP but nobody has actually answered why the Board at Willetton made such a decision without consulting the team at least in the first place. That is the major question here, because they do hold themselves so highly in the younger age groups above most if not all other clubs in WA. I can think of only three clubs which regularly compete consistently with Willetton in those U12 and U14 age groups in Perry Lakes, Warwick and to a slightly lesser extent Rockingham but even then, alot of that is coaching related rather than actual depth of talent.

Boards have to consult parents about club decisions?!? Ahh, no. The purpose of Boards is to make decisions on behalf of the club as they have the full picture in terms of risks, resource requirements etc.

Ahh, no. The purpose of Boards is to make decisions on behalf of the club as they have the full picture in terms of risks, resource requirements etc.

Maybe Willetton are finally realising there is more to life than club championships.

Maybe it will force some of the toxic parents to chill and stop trying to live their life through their kids.

Also, don't put Rockingham in the same conversation as those other clubs.

Kobe, you said it yourself, there's a pandemic. Things change, and I reckon the last fortnight in WA probably exposed the risks a bit more and they decided they didn't want to put their club in that position

You realise that any defence is designed to force players either right or left, technique is required for both directions, yeah?

Kobe, you said it yourself, there's a pandemic. Things change, and I reckon the last fortnight in WA probably exposed the risks a bit more and they decided they didn't want to put their club in that position

Kobe, club champ teams bring the worst out in parents and kids.

Politics at its worst.

Just ask the kids who have quit straight after, or changed clubs.

Smart move, it'll annoy a few parents and they’ll get over themselves when they realise in 12 months their child won’t make a state team anyway.

Willo is set to turn into joondalup 2.0!!! The next great club to sink to the bottom as the Thwaites Express goes CHOOO CHOOO CHOOO through the competition! #Cougarandtigerexilefamily!!!

Congrats to Warwick, Rockingham & East Perth in qualifying today for the Boys U14 Club Nationals.

Anon 847178 this is where you write your retraction re Rockingham teams not being in that conversation. As said previously, they might not be overall powerhouses down there but when they have one of their better coaches leading their 14 Champ teams, they always go close to touring.

Does anyone know now many teams from each State attend these u14 championships? Cheers

I thought there were normally 8 Vic teams, or am I confusing this event with the National Junior Classic held in Vic??