Hoppers Crossing Junior Basketball Club have honoured one of their longest serving and most beloved members.
Former club president and longtime coach and volunteer, Mario Costa, was recently bestowed with life membership for 15 years service.
On top of that, the club also established the Mario Costa Excellence Award to be given annually to one male and one female player that displays outstanding basketball talent.
Club Fundraising and Events Coordinator Kaine Malloch said the recognition was richly deserved.
“In the 15 years he was president he basically ran the club on its own without a committee,” said Mr Malloch who is part of the committee that took over after
Mario Costa stood down as president in 2022.
“He set the foundation for us to walk in as a committee and do what we do now. He set it up,” he said.
Mr Malloch said Mario’s commitment to the club was even more admirable given he lacked the connection most volunteers usually have.
“He does not have a kid playing at the club,” he said.
“A club is built on volunteers and a lot of them have a child playing at the club. Mario is more unique in that he doesn’t have any kids playing at our club but he’s still loyal and coaches multiple teams off his own bat.”
As well as coaching junior teams and helping numerous players gain college scholarships in the US, Mario is also credited with establishing links with the local Sudanese community and getting them involved in basketball.
“We’ve got way more Sudanese players than any other club in Wyndham. He brought a lot of South Sudanese players in and made them feel welcome and created a sense of community for them.”
Cade Lucas.
