Hornets sides ready
Horsham Hornets 2021-22 men’s and women’s squads enjoyed a ‘mini training camp’ at the weekend as they work towards a return of competitive basketball at the end of the month.
Horsham Amateur Basketball Association president Jon Fitzgerald said it was great to get both squads together following two years of oppressive restrictions on community sport.
“I’m super pumped to have the sides picked and settling in,” he said.
“It’s been a long time coming, we’ve been looking forward to this for 18 months.”
The Hornets will kick off their long-awaited Country Basketball League return on November 27. The association did not enter teams in a modified 2020-21 competition.
“We only have a draft draw at this stage, which is subject to change, but at the moment we have a home game in round one,” Mr Fitzgerald said.
“That will be huge for us, to have everyone back at the Hornets nest. We’re expecting a full stadium and we’re going to have a live stream. We also have a few other things planned, such as Matt Lovel will be playing his 150th game and we will be retiring Tim Pickert’s jersey.
“We will also be honouring a couple of special people who have passed away, Wally Wade and Gary Bird.”
New Hornets men’s coach Scott Benbow said the training camp went well and it was great to have both squads on the court together for the first time.
“We finalised the squad on Tuesday last week and we’re into it now, getting ready for the season in a few weeks’ time,” he said.
“Everyone is keen to be here, they’re very enthusiastic and competitive.”
Benbow said despite losing some experience, this year’s squad was ‘exciting’, with former development players including Mitch Martin and Sam Breuer to step up into leadership positions.
“I’m looking forward to seeing what they can do,” he said.
“After 18 months, I honestly can’t wait for the season to start.”
Women’s coach Rebecca Mcintyre is also pleased with how her charges are shaping up. “They’re looking good,” she said. “We had some really good numbers for tryouts, but because of a few things that couldn’t be helped, we’ve had a couple of people pull out.
“We’ve got 11 girls who are committed, really excited and ready to get it all started.
“We’re going to have a really good culture, we’re going to be a really united club and we’re going to be focusing on development and getting the Hornets back out on the floor.”
Mcintyre said there was a great atmosphere at the Horsham stadium at the weekend.
“People are just so happy to be back,” she said.
“They love training and they love being here, especially because it’s just been so long for us all.”
2021-22 CBL squads – Men: Harley Pope, Sam Breuer, Max Bryan, Ryan Pfitzner, Cody Bryan, Matt Brown, Mitch Martin, Jude Kilpatrick, Matt Lovel, Tim Wade and Jake Hobbs; development players, Adam Schache and Will Griffiths; Next Gen players, Freddie Frew, Mitch Amos, Hugh Dougherty and Tarkyn Benbow. Women: Faith Mckenzie, Georgia Hiscock, Liv Jones, Caitlin Story, Ema Iredell, Jedah Huf, Jess Cannane, Shannon Cross, Grace Manserra, Imogen Worthy and Nekayla Butler; Next Gen player, Eva Manserra.