By Tara Murray
Moving to Broadmeadows when he was young was an eye-opener for Australian Opals basketball coach Brendan Joyce.
“I was born when my parents lived in the Collingwood [housing commission] flats, then we moved to the Richmond flats,” Joyce recalled last week.
“We upgraded to a house in Broadmeadows when I was in grade 5, which we all thought was sensational. And school was amazing – we had grass and footy posts and an oval.
Joyce looks back fondly on his time growing up in Broadmeadows.
“I have great memories of my time there. I’m still friends with people I went to school with. One of my best mates still goes to the local football each week to watch Jacana.”
Among those he counts as friends are Broadmeadows MP Frank McGuire and his younger brother, Broadmeadows’ most famous ‘son’ Eddie.
Much of Joyce’s time growing up was spent on a basketball court or football field.
“I actually won the best and fairest for our footy team in grade 6 and I played school footy from form three in tech school. My captain was Billy Swan, the father of AFL Brownlow medallist Dane.
“We didn’t have a basketball team at school. I was aligned with St Andrews Presbyterian Church Boys Club Wildcats from my time in the city and played with them.
“They eventually became the Nunawading Spectres.”
Joyce finished school and got an apprenticeship, then he had to make one of the biggest decisions of his life, whether to focus on basketball or football.
“I was pretty good at footy and won a couple of best and fairests with Jacana. But I had to make the choice.
“I still have the letter from North Melbourne [in the then VFL] saying they wanted me to play for them. I wanted to play for Collingwood but was zoned to play with North.
“If I could have played for Collingwood, I may have chosen to play football instead of basketball.”
But the decision to go with basketball proved fruitful, both on and off court.
The former Taylors Lakes resident and Keilor Basketball Association star went on to play 289 games for the Spectres and Brisbane Bullets in the National Basketball League and was twice in the Australian squad, including in the lead-up to the 1988 Olympics.
He then coached the Wollongong Hawks from 1995-2006, winning the 2001 NBL championship, before two years at the Gold Coast Blaze.
In 2013, he was appointed coach of the Opals. “If I’d played football I would not have gone to the Olympics [as assistant coach of the Boomers] or won a bronze medal at the world championships,” Joyce said.
At the world titles, he had to call on the fighting spirit learned from growing up in Broadmeadows.
“We had seven new players and we lost Liz Cambage with an achilles injury a week out from the tournament,” he said.
“I think of where I’ve come from and I’m proud of that. It has helped play a role in my life and how I coach.”
These days, Joyce doesn’t get to Broadmeadows often, but he will never forget where he came from.
“It doesn’t matter where you come from, you can have success. And credit to my parents, who kept me on track.” he said.
