To all MBA members and families

It’s a busy time for the Magic basketball families and volunteers of the club who strive to keep things moving in a forward direction. This time of year sees us at our busiest with the conclusion of the summer domestic season, commencement of the winter domestic season, WABL games getting underway and SBL ramping up through a quarter of the season with a lot of success.

It is a great time to share some thoughts with our members sitting from the CEO’s chair as I get to see and hear a lot about what goes on around the place. As an organisation the Magic have been attempting to continue to move forward and with the times in an attempt to follow a number of key pillars. These pillars are inclusion, development, growth, cutting edge systems and success.

Each of these pillars is important in their own right but together they have the ability to develop the Magic into one of the strongest basketball associations in WA. The inclusion pillar is about being open to everyone at every level and to have opportunities for players, coaches, volunteers, sponsors, supporters to have an opportunity to be a part of the Magic family across all levels of competition. Development is essential and comes in a number of forms and not just in basketball skills but also life skills, managerial aspects, coaching and volunteering. Growth is based around continuing to reach people who may not have previously been a part of the Magic and to reach those who have not been reached before but is also a based around infrastructure. Cutting edge systems is staying on top of the latest programs and resources to enable our members the best possible outcome. Success is the final pillar and is not just based on wins it is based on improvement sustainability.

All these pillars for the basis for one word that we want to implore throughout the Mandurah Magic basketball association. That word is ENJOYMENT. Everyone right from our SBL teams to our youngest players in the competition including coaches, volunteers, sponsors and supporters, play and are involved in our great game because they love it and enjoy the experience. Sometimes as humans we forget that aspect of sport.

Whether we are coaches, players, spectators, sponsors or volunteers we need to go back to the reason of enjoyment. Sure some things don’t go the way we want and emotions run high because we are human and sport in our culture is an emotional experience. In saying that remember we enjoy it and when we are angry, arguing, or simply putting too much pressure on people we not only take away our own enjoyment but we also take away the enjoyment of others.

As CEO and coach of the men’s SBL team I am one of the most emotional and passionate people you could see in this sport and I am the first to admit that when things don’t go right I can take the enjoyment out of the game for myself and others. It is then when I like all of us need to go back to that word enjoyment. We are all better at things that we enjoy doing so as part of the Magic family I ask that people enjoy the sport, understand that at times things won’t go according to plans, at times we will get dealt a raw deal. My advice to all smile and enjoy the experience of being involved in this great game of basketball and being a part of this great club.

 Jason Chalk

CEO

Mandurah Magic Basketball Association