Basketball
20 September, 2025
Horsham juniors set for basketball pathway camps
Several Horsham juniors will get the chance to participate at the Country Jamboree and Golden Nugget basketball camps to be held over the next week.
Travelling to Echuca for the under 12 Country Jamboree will be April Hobbs, Georgia Skurrie and Penny Webb, as well as coaches Tim Webb and Kerryn Healy, and referee Jon Gardiner.
The Country Jamboree is a four-day event from September 20-23 that includes structured training sessions, tournament-style games, and skill development clinics.
The young basketballers are three of 240 young basketballers selected from a talent pool of 1,200, with the country Jamboree offering them their first experience of the Victorian High Performance basketball pathway system.
As well as building the progression of young players, the Country Jamboree provides coaching and referee development.
Additionally, a number of under 14 basketballers will attend the Golden Nugget camp in Ballarat between September 24-25, bringing together some of the state’s most talented country players.
Luella Burke, Aleah Elliot, Steph Plazzer, Henry Taylor, Lenny Bacon, Tex Askew and Noah Cook were all selected from the Horsham hub of Basketball Victoria’s Future Development Program.
Horsham basketball coach Cam Bruce, who works with the talented juniors, says their selection into Golden Nugget camp is testament to the work they have put in throughout the year.
“We've been training throughout the year, for two hours every Sunday,” Bruce said.
“There’s a program we take them through and then in their own time they are expected to complete a shooting program Basketball Victoria sets.
“It's pretty extensive and the kids have done really, really well with their training and they're really consistent with turning up and putting in the effort, so it's great to get some really good results and get a lot of the players selected.”
The camp will see players partake in a mix of skills training and gameplay, with the event also acting as a selection camp for both the Australian Junior Country Cup and Southern Cross Challenge in 2026.
For top-age basketballers Luella Burke and Noah Cook, the Golden Nugget allows them an opportunity to progress from the Future Development Program to the State development Program.
“Luella Burke and Noah Cook, the top age players from the group, they'll get looked at to potentially join the next part of the program, which is the state development program,” Bruce said.
“So that's putting them on the pathway to a state selection.”