Greenwood Basketball History with David Mayger
I started playing basketball aged around 10yo in the junior competition of the Churches of Christ competition, which was played in the Centennial Pavilion at the Claremont Showgrounds. This would have been from 1956.
Gaye and I met in Primary School at Tuart Hill Primary in the late 1950s, we were also in the Youth Group at the North Perth Church of Christ. Gaye played netball and I played Basketball for several years in the Church competition. We eventually Married in 1969.
During our courting years we had built up a group of friends, and family members most of who were interested in playing Basketball.
In the years before we were married, we organized one senior male team, and one senior female team which included family members and friends. These teams played at the Perry Lakes Basketball Stadium (the forerunner to the Bendat Stadium) under the name of Osbourne Districts. This group played for several years together.
After Gaye and I married in 1969 we shifted to the Greenwood area in 1971 which had just been developed. Over the years as several of our family and friends also shifted into the same area, we changed the name to Sorrento Basketball club as we were based at the Sorrento Recreation Centre as this, with the outside court at the Wanneroo Show Grounds were the only basketball courts available at the time. Over the years the club expanded, and we were playing in all the Recreation Centers in the Wanneroo Shire, Sorrento Rec Centre, Greenwood and Padbury Bini Shells, Girrawheen Rec Centre and on the outside courts at the Wanneroo Showgrounds and Girrawheen Sports Centre. Basketball was becoming very popular, and we were continually being asked by other players if they could join up. At this stage we did not have any junior teams playing. Sorrento Basketball Club had expanded to around 10 senior teams, with teams from as far away as Yanchep playing.
In 1974 we also had a meeting with the Wanneroo Shire Sports Development Officer, Ron Banham at our house in Greenwood and it was decided to call a meeting of interested parties at the Wanneroo Shire Offices to look at the possibility of starting up a Basketball Association in the Wanneroo area. Several people from Basketball WA also attended this meeting and out of this came the Wanneroo Basketball Association, who eventually started playing in the Wanneroo Recreation Centers throughout the Wanneroo Shire.
In 1980 Gaye and myself, with several friends formed a committee and started the Greenwood Basketball Club. We combined the Sorrento senior teams with a couple of junior teams that the club was organising.
In the early days we were known as the Greenwood Blues because of our colours, over the later years the committee changed the name to Greenwood Giants.
The Greenwood Basketball Club continued to grow with a committee including, Gaye, myself, Ross and Gail Summers, Elaine and Gordon Summers, and several other committee members.
Gail and Ross were parents to a set of twin boys who were very young but interested in playing basketball, this is the reason our junior teams were formed, and we were now playing in the Wanneroo Basketball Association which had been formed in 1973/4 and eventually in 1983 started playing in the old Wanneroo Basketball Stadium. Greenwood Basketball Club, mainly the Junior teams continued to grow at a rapid rate. We did need to keep the teams to a minimum because of the same problem that all the clubs have now in getting enough coaches. I would be guessing that in our formation days Greenwood had around 10 junior teams over the age groups.
After stepping down from the Greenwood Basketball Club committee and in the following years Gaye and I were both heavily involved with the Wanneroo Basketball Association, with Gaye working in the office for many years until her passing in 2001. As most would know I am still involved as a Games Manager at HBF stadium on game days.
Many years later both Gaye and I were very happy to receive Life Membership to the Greenwood Basketball Club. We both have also been honored to receive Life Membership to the Wanneroo Basketball Association.
My family and myself are very honored that the Greenwood Basketball Club is thinking of naming this award in Gaye and my name because one of the things I was always looking for in my players when coaching was teamwork, and for the players to enjoy the sport as much as I have over all these years.
I still have a lot of pleasure watching the young players develop over the years and have fond memories watching them come through the junior ranks and eventually in the NBL 1 Teams now.
David Mayger, Founding Member
