Flames of the Future – U12 Boys

In the first of what we hope to be a regular column this WABL Season, we catch up with the three coaches of our Rockingham Flames Under 12 Boys, with Head Coach Travis Young overseeing the age group from a boy’s perspective. We will get an insight from each coach of the three teams on how they are going, what the start of the season has been like as well as some fantastic and insightful quotes on how coaching our youngest batch of future stars is going so far in 2018. Thanks heaps to Travis (Division Boys Head Coach & Head Coach of the U12 Championship Division Boys); Brooke McCallum (U12 Boys Division 2 Head Coach) & Damien McGrath (U12 Boys Division 4 Head Coach) for taking the time to share their thoughts and experiences with the rest of our #FlamesFamily.

Travis Young – U12 Championship Division

I guess for me it’s an honour for the club to put their trust in my ability to be in charge of developing the next group of young men entering the WABL system. I think it’s great that we have moved to a system which places a lot more emphasis on the Head Coach for each division being primarily responsible for overseeing the overall development of that age group, and also having that input with their Coaches from that division as a means of not only developing our players but developing and supporting our coaches as well. The awesome part about being in charge of the younger crew is just to see the development from what we start with at State Champs, to see that progress and flourish over the next six to twelve months, is one of the most rewarding things as a coach – and for me personally its far more meaningful than any win you can get.

(Though winning a WABL Championship is a very close second, I must admit haha!)

In terms of my own team in the Championship Division Boys, we have had a fairly good start to the season. Heading into Week 7 we currently sit in third with 4 wins and 2 losses; We have all of our players from our starters to all of our bench players all contributing regularly; and the most encouraging thing from my perspective is we are very much a team in how we play – we understand that no one person is more important than the team, and I think that definitely shows in how we have played our last three to four games. Considering we were missing a player who at the start of the season was our starting shooting guard, for our first three games as his family went on a US Holiday, the opportunity that gave some of our other players and to see them grab that opportunity with both hands and really run with it to the point that now there is genuine competition for that starting spot, is a positive in which I could never have imagined. Even some of our role players who have really taken a while to understand how good they are and how much potential they each have, are really starting to blossom now and that just creates such positive energy and competitiveness within our team structure, that it means we are improving as a team constantly which is very evident by the results we have been getting.

12s for me are one of the most rewarding age groups to coach because you start with such a blank canvas given how raw the players are at that age, and you get to really see that ‘picture’ take shape so quickly and so to be a part of that journey for each of my players is one which I definitely don’t take for granted. We have a team goal of making the Semi Finals this season and then seeing how we go from there, hopefully we get that far then just see where it takes us. I hope you have enjoyed the read – Trav