Tara Murray
Kolbe Catholic College’s Basketball Academy might be still in its infancy, but it’s making an impact on the state stage.
The academy started in 2021 and despite the setbacks of COVID-19, the academy has thrived in the journey to become the ‘basketball academy of the north’.
In June, the school’s junior girls team claimed the under-15 division 2 Victorian College Championships, before the senior girls won the division 2 3×3 state title at the Basketball Victoria 3X Cup last month.
Basketball Academy head Daniel Nolan said it was exciting to see the teams having this success.
“We’re extremely proud of the program and the basketball academy has been going the last few years.
“The senior girls were able to beat Box Hill and the junior girls were able to win the 5X5 division 2 state championship in June.
“These are definitely the highlights for the academy so far.”
Nolan said that planning for the academy started before 2021, before the dream came to fruition.
There were a lot of online sessions early on due to COVID-19 as they tried to keep all the students engaged and helping the players skills continue to get better.
From there it has grown.
“We have a subject in the curriculum now,” he said. “We do fitness testing, we have expert coaches.
“There’s a vision led by the leadership group and the principal in Nick Scully to achieve some goals, and come the state championships we did.
“We want to be known as the basketball college of the north. We want to put Kolbe on the map.”
Nolan said many people hadn’t heard of the Greenvale-based school at the state championships, but he was hoping that was starting to change.
As well as the girls teams winning state titles, they had boys teams made the state championships in the normal basketball format.
He said the next challenge was to start challenging the best schools across the state, not just the north.
With the school expanding to have another campus in 2026, Nolan said they were hoping to expand the basketball program as well.
“There are no limits.”
Applications are now open for the academy for next year.
To apply, ow.ly/9L2s50Prv2R or for information, dnolan@kolbecc.catholic.edu.au or 8339 3060.
