Eltham North Jets Basketball Club History

 

From somewhat humble beginnings, the Eltham North Jets Basketball Club has grown to become one of the most represented junior domestic clubs in the DVBA. 

In 1987, a re-zoning of parishes resulted in Holy Trinity Primary School opening in Eltham North. Parents quickly realised the need for a Basketball club of their own & in 1988 the Eltham North Jets Basketball Club was founded by John Hudleston (Founding President) & Anna Potesta (founding Secretary) & with it began a 30yr association with DVBA.

The club was granted permission to adopt the Holy Trinity Primary School colours of Maroon & Light Blue, as the majority of players were affiliated with the school, however, there were also children from St Francis Xavier, Glen Katherine, Eltham North, Wattle Glen and Yarrambat to name a few.  Anna Barro designing the original uniforms & Eltham North Jets still wears Maroon & light blue with pride to this day.

Not being able to accurately gauge what the response to the new club would be, the committee were pleasantly surprised when 11 teams both Boys & Girls, were entered across all age groups in the first year.

Throughout its history, the Eltham North Jets has experienced rapid growth to both its Boys & Girls program.  Every week over 300 kids pull on their Jets uniforms & hit the courts but the club continues to be driven by the core values that brought it into existence in 1989. 

The aim to teach, develop and offer players the opportunity to learn the fundamental skills of basketball while instilling values such as teamwork, discipline & respect in a supportive, family-friendly environment continue to be our focus today just as it was all those years ago.  A testament to this fact is the number of players and their families who continue to be involved with Jets well past their playing days.

We are extremely proud of our tradition of maintaining consistently large numbers of homegrown players. Many players that started with Jets in U8-U10 are still playing & or coaching today, telling us we as a club have done our job well. We are now seeing the next generation of coaches, our juniors, giving back to our great club, passing on the lessons they learnt to a whole new generation of Jets players.

Eltham North Jets Players have always been well represented at Championship level representing Diamond Valley, Victoria and Australia at the National and International Level. The club has provided a pathway & financial assistance for players to follow their dream of playing basketball at the highest level with several players gaining scholarships to AIS & prestigious US colleges.