A Word from the Captain
A Word from Captain BenPur
Hawks Captain Ben Purser shares his thoughts on the season and exciting finals series ahead.
2013 has been an extremely successful season for the men’s SBL Hawks team. After two strong wins last weekend we find ourselves sitting 2nd on the ladder, our highest placed regular season finish since my first year of SBL in 2008. Having said that, the group is far from satisfied as we continue to strive toward our ultimate goal of winning a championship.
Back in January when this group first came together under new head coach, Shawn Dennis, I was unsure how we would respond to losing 11 contracted players from the previous season, including 4 of our starters. Adding the experience of Michael Lay, Adrian Majstrovich and Corey Easley has been a huge reason for our success this season and the trio have provided leadership and guidance to what was the youngest list in the SBL last season. Robbie Cassir and Tevin Jackson have also been vital additions to the group providing a devastating one-two punch at the shooting guard position. What has perhaps been most pleasing is the vast amount of young talent that has emerged from within the club – headlined by Ryan O’Sullivan, Ben Dixon and Jackson Simkovic.
SD did a tremendous job early on raising the standard of trainings and levels of expectation within the group. He stressed that if you focused on perfecting the procedure, the outcomes would take care of themselves. Developing this culture was crucial to our early success and allowed the team to develop strong chemistry.
This chemistry was essential in helping the team navigate the transition from SD to Charles Nix mid season without taking a backward step. Nixy and his assistants deserve credit for the tremendous job they have done in less than ideal circumstances.
This years playoffs should be extremely fun to watch after one of the most exciting and evenly matched regular seasons in a long time. As we take on a talented and determined Mandurah side we know cannot be underestimated, we are confident the systems we have in place and the chemistry we have built as a team will leave us in the best possible position to progress to the next round of the playoffs – one step closer to that championship!
Back in January when this group first came together under new head coach, Shawn Dennis, I was unsure how we would respond to losing 11 contracted players from the previous season, including 4 of our starters. Adding the experience of Michael Lay, Adrian Majstrovich and Corey Easley has been a huge reason for our success this season and the trio have provided leadership and guidance to what was the youngest list in the SBL last season. Robbie Cassir and Tevin Jackson have also been vital additions to the group providing a devastating one-two punch at the shooting guard position. What has perhaps been most pleasing is the vast amount of young talent that has emerged from within the club – headlined by Ryan O’Sullivan, Ben Dixon and Jackson Simkovic.
SD did a tremendous job early on raising the standard of trainings and levels of expectation within the group. He stressed that if you focused on perfecting the procedure, the outcomes would take care of themselves. Developing this culture was crucial to our early success and allowed the team to develop strong chemistry.
This chemistry was essential in helping the team navigate the transition from SD to Charles Nix mid season without taking a backward step. Nixy and his assistants deserve credit for the tremendous job they have done in less than ideal circumstances.
This years playoffs should be extremely fun to watch after one of the most exciting and evenly matched regular seasons in a long time. As we take on a talented and determined Mandurah side we know cannot be underestimated, we are confident the systems we have in place and the chemistry we have built as a team will leave us in the best possible position to progress to the next round of the playoffs – one step closer to that championship!
Article: Lani Dennis
Photo: Seb Komatsu
Last Modified on 03/08/2013 13:25
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