Hoops Mums Raise Hope
The Hoops 4 Health Womens Team competing in the Arafura Games provided hope. Hope to all the mothers and children who think that when they become a mum their careers in sport are over.
Rohanee Cox limped through the tournament juggling her 14 week old baby and her 9 year old girl. Trish Graham brings and extra set of hands to the courts, 10 in fact with her 5 children. One of the children, Mishy Friel 17, played alongside her during the tournament. Sisters, Vanessa Kurnoth and Letticha Clarke have 7 children between them. Tamara Appo has a 9 month old girl, Alana Dingo another 3 kids and Delsey Ahwang has a little girl.
So accompanying the team to each game were 19 children. That does not say that the partners of the women were not supportive, in fact it was quite the opposite with the network of dads, grandparents, aunties and uncles providing support to all the women in the team.
Head Coach Sharon Ahchee and Manager Natalie Hunter provided an extra mentor for each of the women through their leadership qualities off the court and both are leaders in Indigenous Education and Indigenous Child Welfare. Both more than held their own on the basketball court in their glory days in the Darwin Basketball Association.
As mentioned above the men didn’t go unnoticed with Assistant Coaches Glenn Warrior and Brian Lawrie heavily involved in the basketball development of the juniors in the Hoops 4 Health Team.
The feat that 10 Indigenous women can make it to a gold medal game is not the issue or major point. The values of Hoops 4 Health Aboriginal Corporation are to provide opportunities for Indigenous people to be able to participate in mainstream competitions and along the way hit baskets and goal on and off the court.
Head Coach Sharon Ahchee summed it up nicely:
“ If we have inspired one person to take up the sport or to lead a healthy lifestyle then you (the Hoops 4 Health Womens Team) have done your job.”
That one person may be one of the 19 children who watched their mums as their inspiration in the 2011 Arafura Games.
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