Reigning NBL Champions Angus Brandt and Dexter Kernich-Drew of the Perth Wildcats will switch from players to coaches this Friday 2nd June to compete in the YMCA World Challenge event at Belmont Oasis Leisure Centre.
The annual World Challenge event is hosted to commemorate YMCA’s birthday and with this year’s being our 173rd, it’s certainly an occasion worth having some fun and going head to head for.
While the guard and the centre are more than ready to try and claim bragging rights, the young people from Serpentine Jarrahdale Community Recreation Centre and The Base @ Belmont have no idea they’ll be coached by two of the best in the business.
“We’ve done in-house games of basketball before but this time we’ve upped the ante and invited multiple stakeholders, but we’re not telling the young people,” YMCA Youth Worker Amanda Hodkin said.
“We’ve told them we have a secret weapon and they think it’s Laura our Youth Service Coordinator!”
The challenge will run from 4pm-6pm on Friday night, with two matches of young people vs staff starting the proceedings, followed by the clash of the young people teams and their Wildcats coaches in the grand final.
“I think it will be really nice for the young people to have these really important coaches to try to impress – it will just give them lots of excitement,” Amanda said.
Amanda has been teaching basketball skills and drills every Tuesday in the boys program this term and despite the young people wanting to beat the staff members, Amanda says winning isn’t the only focus.
“I don’t want the main message to necessarily be ‘you were the best if you won’, it will more be that we’re always watching for whoever passes the ball around a lot, who shows sportsmanship, who shows that being down by 20 goals doesn’t stop them from giving their all - that’s more important to us.”
With prizes for fairest and best, most valuable player and most improved set to be handed out, the young people appear to be firmly set on beating the staff members and certainly won’t know what’s hit them when they meet with two NBL super stars.
“The rival smack talk has started – it’s so friendly that it’s fun but they’re all definitely looking forward to the challenge!” Amanda laughed.