This week we get an insight into the Barwon Heads Seagulls and their president Cameron O’Brien. Take a look below and get to know him and the club.
What year was your club established?
Established in 2006.
Is there a back story to why the club was established?
The club was established to provide a way for the kids at the primary school to get involved with basketball. The first season saw us fielding six sides, and five of them were in the U10’s! We have since then been largely a club for primary school aged kids, because our training court is the BHPS gym – a gift from the government due to the close nature of the federal seat of Corangamite! However in recent years as the kids who play for Seagulls at primary school hit high school age, increasingly we are fielding more and more older sides
Where did your club name come from?
That is fairly straight forward, traditionally the Barwon Heads sporting clubs have been known as the Seagulls, such as the Football and Netball club, so to promote this town unity we adopted the same name.
How long have you been your Club’s President?
I am into my 4th year as Club President. Viva Partos (Club Vice President) and I took over in the AGM of 2016.
What drove you to be a Club President?
The first thing was need! The outgoing President Modesty Kneebone was very keen to move on, and had recruited me for the role, so I put my hand up. However I had also been involved with the Club as a coach for many, many seasons as I have kids who play for Seagulls, I think it’s a great basketball club so I was keen to do more.
What do you love about Basketball?
Basketball is a great game in so many ways. Physically it is demanding and very good for fitness and overall health, but it also teaches a range of skills from hand eye co-ordination to peripheral vision, and of course teaches people to work as part of a team. For juniors especially it gives them an outlet for their natural competitiveness and love of sports, and helps us as a club nurture kids into healthy, and driven young men and women
