Young athletes in Melbourne’s north-west will be a step closer to becoming the next basketball superstars, with a new local high-performance training hub to be established under a re-elected Andrews Labor Government.

The new hub in the city’s north-west will be one of seven around the state, giving local kids access to the best training programs close to home – with a clear pathway to elite level basketball in Australia or the American NBA.

Operating out of each of the hubs, a new Intensive Training Program will see a dedicated High-Performance Coach work with male and female teams for kids under 14, 15, 16 and 18.

Teams for players with disabilities will also be established, helping discover our next Paralympic stars. Each team will train together every week, plus individual one-on-one weekly sessions for shooting and strength conditioning.

As part of the program, local kids will have the opportunity to compete in interstate and overseas tournaments, allowing them to advance their skills and increase their exposure to national and international talent scouts.

A re-elected Labor Government will invest $5 million to establish the new training hubs, as part of a $101 million plan to grow basketball from grassroots to elite level across the state. This includes establishing a new Australian Basketball Centre of Excellence at the Knox Regional Sports Park.

Both Basketball Australia and the NBA Global Academy – an elite training centre that provides a pathway to the American NBA league – will relocate their training facilities from Canberra to the new Centre of Excellence, which the new high-performance basketball training hub in Melbourne’s north-west will feed into.

Existing basketball facilities at Knox will also be expanded to provide headquarters and training facilities for the new ninth National Basketball League (NBL) team, which will be a Melbourne team.

A re-elected Labor Government will work with Sport and Recreation Victoria and the local community to determine the exact location for the new training hub across the north-western suburbs.

Quote attributable to Member for Yuroke Ros Spence

“This will help kids of all ages and abilities improve their game and take the next step in their basketball career.”