The Australian Boomerangs made Braybrook home for a few days in the lead up to the World Championships.
The Boomerangs, who are Australia’s national men’s basketball team for players with intellectual disability, spent a few days training at Recwest late last month.
The side is aiming to defend its title at the 2025 Virtus World Championships in Kazakhstan.
Boomerangs head coach Ryan Holloway, a long-standing YMCA employee and volunteer, said the program represents more than sport.
“This is elite-level basketball, but it’s also about belonging, belief, and representing Australia with pride. We’ve got a special group,” Holloway said.
“It’s nice to get the boys from other states to come together and work collectively, rather than separately in each state.
“We try to get the majority of the team together. It’s hard to get them as frequently as we would like.”
For Holloway it was a chance to have the side train in his own backyard being a Maribyrnong resident.
A lot of the players in the squad have connections to Melbourne’s north-west as well.
Dylan Cheyne plays at the Sunbury Jets, while Jack Innella used to live in Wyndham.
Jack de la Motte is from Craigieburn and Matthew Farrar is from the Melton and Caroline Springs area.
Holloway said there was so much talent coming from Victoria with many of those players integrating into regular basketball sides.
He said the side was excited to get back to the championships.
“It’s a chance to shine on the world stage and retain our title as number one, there’s a bit of pretty on them.”
To donate to help get the side to the world championships: https://asf.org.au/projects/basketball-australia
