For the Clark family, Diamond Valley Basketball was never simply a place to play basketball.
It was where they grew up, where friendships were formed, where families came together and where four brothers discovered a lifelong love of the game. For 35 years, the Clark name was synonymous with Diamond Valley Basketball. From the early days of the Diamond Valley Telstars to the Diamond Valley Eagles, coaching, refereeing, administration and countless Friday nights and Saturdays spent around the stadium, the family became an important part of the Association’s history.
It all began in 1980, when eldest son Ross joined the mighty Diamond Valley Telstars. At the time, Diamond Valley had a thriving junior domestic competition, with clubs including Greenhills, Apollo, St Mary’s, St Thomas and Watsonia Heights. The stadium was a hub of activity, with Saturdays often stretching from 8.30am through to 6.30pm as families spent the day watching and playing basketball.
Ross was soon followed by his brothers Brett, Todd and Glenn. All four boys played for Telstars, all wearing the famous number 24, and between them they won multiple A Grade premierships. They would each go on to represent the Diamond Valley Eagles, enjoying successful junior and senior careers along the way.
For parents Arthur and Rosanne, basketball became a family affair. Friday nights could mean three of their sons playing across the state, but they made sure the boys never missed an opportunity to represent Diamond Valley. The kilometres travelled, the tournaments attended and the hours spent at the stadium became part of family life.
And while the boys were busy playing, Arthur was becoming an important figure in the Association himself. He served as President of the Diamond Valley Telstars before going on to serve two separate terms, totalling more than 15 years, as President of the Diamond Valley Basketball Association.
Arthur coached across almost 20 years and all age groups and played an influential role in bringing Friday night Junior Championship basketball games to Diamond Valley. He was also the first Association President to dedicate money in the annual budget specifically towards coach education, including sending coaches to Sydney to attend coaching clinics.
He also spent years advocating for the development of facilities, playing a role in the building of the Diamond Creek Community Centre as a venue for games and training. Arthur’s contribution was ultimately recognised with Life Membership of Diamond Valley Basketball Association.
Four brothers, four basketball journeys
Each of the four Clark brothers carved out their own place in Diamond Valley’s history. Ross spent much of his childhood, teenage years and early adulthood at the Civic Drive stadium. He began as a Telstars junior before progressing to Junior Championship basketball with the Eagles, senior basketball, Civic League, CVIBL and SEABL with the North East Melbourne Arrows. His first job was actually at Diamond Valley, working as a receptionist, and he also refereed domestic basketball on and off from 1985. It was coaching, however, that would become one of his greatest contributions. Ross coached boys’ and girls’ teams for many years, achieving significant success along the way. His Under 18 boys won the Victorian Championship title in 2012, while his Under 16 boys won the National Junior Classic in 2013. He also represented Victoria as a Head Coach, winning two gold medals, and coached at Basketball Australia’s Australian Development Camp at the AIS in 2012. Like his father, Ross became a Life Member of Diamond Valley Basketball Association.
Brett played several seasons with the Diamond Valley Eagles before moving into coaching with Apollo Domestic Basketball. Todd also played several seasons with Diamond Valley, with one particular achievement still standing out in the family story, his team winning the Coburg Kodak Moomba Tournament. Glenn followed a similar path to his brothers, playing for the Eagles from junior through to senior level before moving into coaching. His coaching career included medals at the National Junior Classic and taking a Diamond Valley Under 14 girls team to the National Club Championships in Canberra, where they finished fourth in Australia. He also coached Victorian wheelchair basketball before later moving to New South Wales and representing NSW Country.
More than basketball
For the Clark family, the memories of Diamond Valley extend well beyond wins and championships. There were trips to the Sale Easter Classic, Shepparton Classic, Coburg Kodak Moomba Tournament, Eltham Australia Day Tournament, Adelaide Easter Classic and the National Junior Classic at the old Albert Park.
These tournaments were family affairs – long days, bus trips, basketball, competition and, most importantly, friendships.
Many of those friendships created over three decades ago are still going strong today. For Glenn, Diamond Valley represents his childhood, teenage years and early adulthood. He remembers attending the stadium for the first time at just five days old, watching his older brothers play with his mum. By the age of five, he was playing for Telstars himself. He remembers the red and yellow uniforms, packed grandstands on Saturday afternoons, A Grade seasons, premierships and fierce domestic rivalries with clubs such as St Thomas, Eltham North and Greenhills.
Those games created lifelong friendships. Representing the Diamond Valley Eagles from Under 12 through to Under 20 was another important part of Glenn’s journey. There were Friday night road trips across metropolitan Melbourne, Basketball Victoria camps, National Junior Classic appearances and the challenge of competing against some of the state’s best young players.
And, as he remembers, plenty of stops at McDonald’s along the way.
Lessons that lasted beyond the court
Basketball also shaped the values that became part of the Clark family. Arthur and Rosanne taught their sons the importance of being part of a team – supporting teammates and coaches regardless of the score or where the team sat on the ladder. They taught them resilience. Things would not always go your way, but you had to get up, dust yourself off and go again. Arthur’s philosophy was simple: if you were unhappy about your court time, don’t complain – get better. Work harder at training, put in the extra sessions and earn your opportunity.
Perhaps most importantly, Arthur believed that the club was bigger than any individual player or team, even when that meant making difficult decisions. Those lessons followed the brothers well beyond their playing careers.
Creating their own Diamond Valley history
Ross’s coaching career produced some of the family’s most memorable moments. Among them was the 2012 Under 18 Victorian Championship title. Two years earlier, the team had lost to Melbourne Tigers by one point in overtime. In 2012, they had the opportunity to face Melbourne again, this time coached by Australian basketball legend Andrew Gaze.
Diamond Valley won.
For Ross, the victory meant more than a championship. The support from Diamond Valley people who travelled to watch the standalone game at SBC made it feel like a victory for the whole Association. The following year brought another historic achievement.
The 2013 Under 16 boys began the season ranked 22nd. They had to win their final game to qualify for the Victorian Championship Top 10, eventually finishing fourth in their pool and earning a place at the prestigious National Junior Classic. What followed was a remarkable weekend of basketball.
The team produced a one-point buzzer-beating victory over Hawthorn Magic in the quarter-final, before defeating Melbourne Tigers in the final. In doing so, they became the first and at the time of the story, still the only, Diamond Valley Under 16 boys team to win the National Junior Classic.
A place that became home
Ask the Clark family what made Diamond Valley feel like home, and the answer is simple. They spent so much of their lives there that they knew every hook and cranny of the stadium. Friday nights and Saturdays were spent at the courts. Generations of friends and families became part of their lives, many of those relationships lasting more than 30 years. The family also remembers the people who helped shape the Association along the way.
Brian Harvey holds a particularly important place in the Clark story, with Arthur and Brian spending countless hours working together to help Diamond Valley grow. John Sanders and Wilma Hay are also remembered as people who were the lifeblood of the Association. There are, of course, many more names and stories that could be added to the list. That’s the nature of a basketball community that has grown over generations.
A legacy that continues
By 2016, the Clark family’s formal 35-year journey at Diamond Valley had come to an end when Ross stopped coaching representative Eagles teams. But leaving the courts did not mean leaving Diamond Valley behind. The Association had shaped the four brothers, their careers, their friendships and their understanding of community. It had provided opportunities to play, coach, referee and work — and, in Glenn’s case, helped open doors to Basketball Victoria and basketball opportunities beyond the Association.
Diamond Valley had become the foundation for so much of what came afterwards. Today, the Association is a very different place to the four-court stadium the Clark family first knew. It has grown into an eight-court facility, with NBL1 South Men’s and Women’s teams, Youth League programs, strong representative pathways and a vibrant domestic competition. The Clark family has watched that growth from close range.
And they are proud to have been part of it. Their message to the next generation of Diamond Valley families is simple:
Get involved.
Because the friendships created through basketball can last a lifetime, and the memories made along the way can become part of a family’s story for generations. For the Clark family, Diamond Valley was never just somewhere they played.
It was home.
And as Glenn put it so perfectly:
Once a DV Basketball person, always a DV Basketball person.
Up the North.
