By Steve McCabe
When I look back on my journey with Diamond Valley Basketball, I often think about how it all started.
Like many other parents, I didn’t set out to become involved in basketball administration, committees or the running of an association. I was simply a dad taking my kids to basketball.
My children started playing at Eltham North Basketball Club (the Jets), where Glenn Turner coached the boys. Before long, I found myself helping out; coaching, managing teams, supporting the kids and getting to know the families around the club.
It was a simple beginning, but it was the start of something that would evolve over time.
I would often think:
“I always wondered why somebody didn’t do something about that – then I realised I am somebody.”
That probably sums up volunteering pretty well.
When Eltham North needed more people to get involved with the committee, Glenn and I stepped up. I became president and Glenn took on the role of vice president. At the time, I don’t think either of us could have known where that decision would lead.
Being involved with the Jets, introduced me to a much bigger basketball community, the volunteers, coaches, managers, scorers, referees and committee members who kept clubs running week after week.
And that’s what I came to understand about Diamond Valley Basketball, the basketball is important, but the people are everything.
The clubs across the area are the foundation of the association. Apollo, Greenhills, Diamond Creek, Eltham North, Yarrambat, Watsonia and all the other clubs provide children with somewhere to play, but they also provide somewhere to belong. They create friendships, confidence and memories that often last long after the final siren.
The Association brings those clubs together through junior and senior domestic basketball, while providing opportunities for players to progress into the Diamond Valley Eagles junior and senior championship programs.
Being involved at club level gave me an appreciation for just how much work goes on behind the scenes to make that possible.
Finding a stronger voice for domestic basketball
One of the things I became particularly passionate about was making sure our domestic clubs had a strong voice.
With the support of people from a number of other clubs, we re-established the Junior Domestic Committee. It gave clubs an opportunity to come together, talk openly about the issues they were facing and work towards practical solutions.
We looked at everything from grading and coaching to court facilities and the overall experience of playing domestic basketball.
Of all the things we worked on, improving the grading of the domestic competition is probably one of the achievements I am most proud of.
It might not sound like the biggest thing when you look at the history of an association, but getting children playing at the right level can make such a difference. It can mean a child enjoys basketball more, develops their skills, makes friends and, most importantly, wants to keep coming back.
There were many people involved in that work, and it was a genuine team effort.
That has always been one of the great things about Diamond Valley. People are prepared to put their hand up and have a go.
A difficult time for the Association
There was another moment in my journey that I certainly never expected.
Around 15 years ago, while I was chair of the Junior Domestic Committee, Diamond Valley Basketball was facing serious operational difficulties.
It was a challenging time for the Association and for everyone involved.
At the AGM, I offered to step into the role of president and help establish a new management team. It was a big decision, but it felt like one of those moments when someone had to step forward and say, “Okay, let’s work out how we fix this.”
My good friend Stuart Callaghan took over as president of Eltham North, allowing me to focus on the Association.
What followed was an extraordinary effort from the basketball community.
People from across coaching, refereeing, domestic and championship basketball, administration, finance, marketing and technology all came together to help.
There was a lot of work to do.
Sharryn Coffield worked tirelessly alongside me as we reviewed all facets of the administration to find solutions. There were plenty of difficult conversations and plenty of long days, but there was also an enormous amount of goodwill.
The domestic clubs played an important role in that recovery, they showed a significant amount of faith in the Association.
After several years of hard work and recovery -we got the Association back running to where it should be and I remain incredibly grateful to the clubs that backed the Association during that period.
Looking back now, I think that period says a lot about what the Association means to the community. When the Association needed help, people didn’t walk away. They came together.
Growing the Association
Once we had worked through those challenges, the focus could then look towards the future.
Alongside people such as Jason Van Hout, Joe Crupi and Peter Sharp, I was fortunate to be part of an executive committee that continued to push for better facilities and greater opportunities for basketball.
We spent a lot of time advocating to Council and stadium managers about what Diamond Valley needed to support its growing domestic and championship programs.
In 2014, we prepared a report outlining the future development needs of the stadium and began advocating for support from Council and the State Government.
There were plenty of meetings, discussions and plans along the way. As is often the case with community projects, things don’t happen overnight.
In 2016, we were able to pause and celebrate where we’d come from, marking 40 years of the Association with a gala dinner at Ivanhoe. Around 400 people came together that night.
It was a wonderful reminder that the Association wasn’t just about what was happening on the court at that particular moment. It was about four decades of people who had given their time, energy and passion to building something.
Then came another significant chapter.
In 2017, Joe Crupi led the push for our senior championship teams to enter the South East Australian Basketball League, or SEABL.
The application was successful, and Diamond Valley began competing in the competition in 2018.
Diamond Valley had previously been involved in SEABL through the North East Melbourne Arrows, so there was history there, but seeing our senior teams take that step was still a significant moment for the Association.
SEABL ended after the 2018 season, and evolving into NBL1 with our senior representative teams still in the league.
At the same time, work was continuing on something that had been discussed for years, the future of the stadium.
In 2017, Council commissioned plans for a redevelopment, including a new show court.
It took years of advocacy, planning and work by many people, but in 2022 the redeveloped centre finally opened.
Standing in that facility today, it is easy to forget how many conversations, meetings, setbacks and hours of work went into getting there.
But that’s often the story of community sport.
You don’t always see the work that happens behind the scenes. You just see the finished court.
Looking back
Today, I have the privilege of being chair of the History Committee.
In some ways, it feels like a fitting role.
After so many years of being involved in building the Association’s future, I now get to help preserve its past.
And what I’ve discovered through the History Committee is just how many stories there are.
Every person seems to have a memory. A first game. A coach who made a difference. A team photo. A grand final. A committee meeting. A fundraiser. A friendship. A court they spent countless hours sitting beside.
Those stories are what make the history of Diamond Valley Basketball.
I am particularly grateful to people like Brian Harvey, who has inspired me over the years to keep getting things done and to keep looking for ways to move the Association forward.
When I think about my own journey, it still amazes me that it all began with taking my children to basketball.
What started as a parent getting involved at a local club became years of volunteering, leadership, problem-solving, friendships and memories.
I’ve met an incredible number of people through basketball. I’ve seen children grow into adults, watched families become part of the basketball community and seen volunteers give countless hours simply because they wanted to make things better for someone else.
That’s what Diamond Valley Basketball has always meant to me.
It is much more than basketball.
It is people.
It is community.
It is generations of volunteers putting their hands up and saying, “I’ll help.”
And ultimately, it is about creating something that can be passed on to the next generation.
When I look at Diamond Valley today, I feel incredibly proud to have played a small part in its journey.
But the story of the Association continues, it belongs to everyone who has ever walked through the doors, stepped onto a court, coached a team, scored a game, refereed, served on a committee, washed uniforms, organised a fundraiser, driven to training, cheered from the sideline or simply turned up because they loved basketball.
That’s the Diamond Valley story.
And I’m very grateful to have been part of it.
