By Tara Murray
Mark Welch may have only stepped on the court for a couple of minutes on Saturday night, but for him that was a win.
After suffering a calf injury a couple of weeks ago, he probably shouldn’t have taken to the court.
But the chance to play game 200 for the Craigieburn Eagles in front of a home crowd was something he wasn’t going to miss.
He said before the game he was always to get on the court, it was a matter for how long.
Welch started his basketball at Craigieburn as a junior before moving associations.
He spent time at the Melbourne Tigers, Broadford and Altona before returning to the Eagles in 2002.
At the time, he had taken a step away from basketball and was playing another sport.
“When I came back I was playing netball and not thinking about basketball,” he said.
“I had played for the Victorian under-23 team. My family was heavily involved in netball, so I had close ties.
“The [Craigieburn] coach convinced me to come back.”
Welch, who said he didn’t regret the decision to give up netball, and has been part of the Craigieburn team since.
For him, one of the greatest things about basketball was that the learning continued no matter what age you are.
The highlight has been the 2012 division 2 championship, the only men’s championship in the Eagles’ history.
Welch is the fourth member of that team to play game 200 this year.
He said one of the best things about Craigieburn, was the community feel around the club.
While the 2012 championship has been the high, injuries have been the low.
“Unfortunately, I’ve had a lot of injuries over the time – its taken a while to get to game 200,” he said.
“Playing under-18s for Melbourne Tigers, I shattered my elbow. I’ve done my achilles, my calf three times and [have had a] spiral fracture in my hand.”
Welch said he was unsure if he would continue to play on, but would certainly stay involved at the club.
The Eagles’ season came to an end, losing in three games to Mildura Heat in the division 2 semi-final series.
