On court in the Far West with a message | PHOTOS
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Adelaide Lightning’s Laura Hodges and Adelaide 36ers development player Fabian Johnson said they enjoyed touring the Far West promoting not only basketball, but the importance of school and a healthy lifestyle.
The pair visited Yalata Anangu School last Thursday and Koonibba Aboriginal School on Friday, in addition to visiting the community at Yalata.
“It is about promoting basketball and be good role models for the kids, to encourage them to get into basketball or another sport, to be active, healthy and display good sportsmanship,” Mrs Hodges said.
“It is a sport on the rise in Australia, the 36ers played so well this year, the women are back on television, so it is great for basketball.
“It was great to see so many smiling faces, the kids were confident and knew the terminology – it is hard in season, but whenever we get the chance to come out to regional areas it is great.”
Mr Johnson said his first visit to the region had been a “good experience” and he hoped to return.
The players spoke about their career paths and the importance of school attendance and learning, a message trip supporters Complete Personnel Ceduna have been involved with.
Kim Gregory from Complete Personnel, who is also the project manager for the remote school attendance strategy at Yalata and Oak Valley, said the trip helped to promote that message.
“This is the second time we have brought players out and any opportunity we have we will do it, the schools have given positive feedback on how it went with the students taking in what they heard and learnt from Laura and Fabian,” she said.
“The players had a message of making sure you come to school and are engaged in your learning.
“Complete Personnel run the remote school attendance program and we also work in partnership with the SANFL as part of it.”
The trip also allowed Hodges, a Motor Accident Commission (MAC) spokesperson, and Johnson to speak to the communities about the importance of road safety.
The commission’s engagement and road safety communications manager Matt Hanton said that it was through vital partnerships like this one that MAC was able to access thousands of people throughout the state and extend the delivery of MAC’s road safety messages and to engage and educate the community.
“As the naming sponsor of the MAC Adelaide Lightning, we are able to work together with the Lightning and the 36ers players to communicate vital road safety messages to the South Australian basketball community and more than 45,000 registered participants.”