Yesterday two of our junior Eagles, Casey Valenti – Paea and Courtney Willemse, set off to represent Victoria Metro in Perth at the U16 Australian Junior Championships. It is a week long, national tournament with teams from across the country competing for the honour of calling themselves the best team in Australia.

We caught up with two of our Eagles coaches, who are also on the U16 girl’s staff as assistant coaches, to get their thoughts on the tournament and how they think the girls will perform.

Simon Hickey, U16 Girls Head Coach had this to say about our girls.

“Having had 3 players from our U16 Girls program make the Victorian Metro U16 State Squad is a huge credit to the Diamond Valley program and all the coaches who have helped shape their game to date as well as to the players themselves. Courtney Willemse and Casey Valenti-Paea were both selected in the final team of 10 while Kristina Sa’aga was selected as an emergency.

Whilst she may not have made the final 10, Kristina has been a fantastic contributor to the Vic Metro campaign and in turn a huge part of our success on a Friday night over the last few months. Quiet in nature Krissy lets her game do the talking as she is comfortable at both ends of the floor. A great shooter from range as well and more than comfortable attacking the paint she is a tough match for opposition teams. On the defensive end she loves a challenge and will regularly guard the other team’s best player with aplomb. She is a pleasure to coach and I look forward to continuing to work with her this season at DV.

Courtney is a super competitive player who has a huge work rate. She is forever looking for ways to improve her game both on and off the court and this has culminated with selection in this year’s U16 Vic Metro team. Running the point is a challenging role but one that Courtney relishes and succeeds in. Her ability to get her team mates involved as well as getting the most out of her offensive game is a credit to her. She has great range on her shot coupled with a fantastic ability to get to the rim. This makes her very tough to guard indeed. But it is her defensive efforts which saw her standout on a Friday night during the VJBL season and in turn at State selections earlier this year.

Casey is the player every team would love to have. Her laconic nature off court transfer to a no fuss player on court. Again, highly competitive, Casey is most at home when it comes time to play. She has an uncanny knack to read the game defensively like few others and her high athletic ability sees her create havoc for opposition teams on the defensive end of the floor. Casey is equally as skilled on the offensive end as she can find a way to the rim through traffic as well as out on the fast break. She has a developing shot from range though at times gives up this shot to keep her teammates involved such is the nature of Casey as a person.

It has been a pleasure to work with all 3 girls so far this VJBL season and having the chance to also work with them as part of the Vic Metro squad has been fantastic. The growth of the players has been noticeable and they have all transferred this to their games and training at Diamond Valley.

It is a credit to all the girls and their families for their achievements so far and I wish both Courtney and Casey every success during their time in Perth at Nationals.”

Jacqui O’Neill, U14 Girls Head Coach stated:

“It's wonderful to see all of Courtney's hard work get her to the position she is in today. I have watched Courtney grow from the little under 12 player to now an under 16 state player. Her ball handling skills have always been an asset and she has explosive speed that allow her to navigate to score and hustle in defence. Playing for both St Helena saints and cougars Courtney has suffered a few injuries that saw her miss the majority of our under 14 season together but she didn't miss a session and is very committed ensuring she is the best player possible. Many would not know Courtney spends hours on her drive way at home perfecting her game. Congratulations Courtney.

Casey's athleticism burst into Diamond Valley as an under 14 player. Having not played for very long Casey found herself being a pivotal player in the 14s Diamond Valley and Cougars domestic side. Casey’s natural ability to come up with the ball is unbelievable. She uses her speed and explosive jump to work hard defensively. Having started basketball later than most of her teammates Casey is commended on her ability to pick things up quickly and read the game. It's been a pleasure to watch her grow quickly into a hard-working, smart and versatile player.”

From all of us at The Nest, we would like to wish Casey, Courtney, Simon and Jacqui all the best for the week. We will have links to Live Stats and keep you up to date with results so keep an eye on Facebook and our website. GO EAGLES!