Victoria is the place to be if you want to further your career in basketball, which is what attracted Chris Tighe to the Sunbury Jets Basketball Association.
Tighe, who was working in Queensland, has been appointed to the association’s new junior development role.
He has previously worked in player development and as a strength and conditioning coach with both NBL club Townsville Crocodiles and the reigning WNBL champions Townsville Fire.
“Victoria has come on leaps and bounds with progress in basketball, and it’s the place to be,” Tighe said last week.
“I did a little bit of research about Sunbury and it was close to the city but far enough away to be quiet.”
Tighe’s first role at Sunbury was to develop a new program for the association’s under-8s and under-10s, which will start in October.
“The program will see under-8s and under-10s compete but also have a development element,” he said. “It will ensure they have a strong foundation and good, consistent coaching. Currently they go straight into playing games.
“This way they will have a skills session followed by a full game.”
The new program will have four levels, based on age and skill.
“There’s been good feedback so far about what we’re looking at doing,” said Tighe, who will also help develop the association’s representative sides.
“I’ll help with a skills base and a strength and conditioning base, such as injury prevention and teaching them how to move properly,” he said.
“A lot of injuries come from bad habits ingrained at an early age.”
Tighe’s background in the WNBL has led to him wanting to try to increase female participation in the sport.
“I’m hoping to get more girls playing basketball,” he said.
Operations manager Andrew Summerville said Tighe ticked a lot of boxes coming into the role.
“He’s a great individual development coach, high-performance strength and conditioning coach, and he has experience running junior development programs like Aussie Hoops,” Summerville said.
“His elite experience in the NBL and WNBL will also benefit our players and coaches.
“He’s not just a coach; he’s an administrator and expert in injury management and rehabilitation.”
Tara Murray
