Northside Wizards on brink of returning to top league after 2015 reset
The rapid rise of this Brisbane sporting club is almost complete with memberships growing, championship wins and more than $20 million of works being done to facilities, including a new home. SEE HOW THEY DID IT.
North
Don't miss out on the headlines from North. Followed categories will be added to My News.
Five years ago, the Northside Wizards hit the reset button.
After a strategic review at the end of 2015, the Wizards board identified a few key areas which they believed were preventing the club from becoming the powerhouse it had the potential to be.
They then made a decision, which might have puzzled some members of the basketball community, to pull out of the state’s premier senior competition and focus solely on building its junior program.
QSL BASKETBALL’S TOP PLAYS FROM ROUND 3
REPLAY: IPSWICH FORCE V SWM PIRATES QSL BASKETBALL
GPS BASKETBALL: BEHIND CHURCHIE’S 13-YEAR DOMINANCE
That decision has turned out to be a masterstroke with the club on the brink of returning to the top state-league competition by nominating for the NBL1 North in 2021 and also more than $20 million of works being done to their facilities.
Those works include a new $8.6 million home in Zillmere, which is a re-purposed warehouse turned into a five-court indoor sports centre, expected to be complete in Octoberand mostly funded by the Queensland Government.
And a two-court stadium at Brendale currently undergoing a major $15 million extension with the addition of a further three courts and amenities, funded by the Moreton bay Regional Council and scheduled to open in January next year.
“When we did our review, we identified our strengths were in our large geographical reach and strong basketball administration, however a weakness was a lack of basketball heritage in the area,” Northside Wizards president Brett Anderson said.
“We had teams in the premier senior competition (QBL), however the teams mainly comprised of players outside our association and we wanted to invest in our juniors to increase the local content in our senior representative program.”
Since 2016, Northside’s focus on rebuilding their junior base has resulted in their junior girls base growing by 20 per cent each year, their WizKids program thriving with more than 250 players each year and their junior boys and senior base growing by 45 per cent.
They now are one of the biggest clubs in Queensland with more than 3000 members.
Anderson believed there were several moments which were a catalyst for this success, including restructuring their junior girls competition and the appointments of Cathie Roberts and Don McCarron as the full-time general manager and coaching director.
“We rebuilt the girls competition from a club-based system where many games had lopsided results, and introduced the Northside Girls Basketball League (NGBL),” Anderson said.
“The focus of NGBL was to have the girls play in competitions more on competency levels rather than age, with players allocated to teams that were designed to ensure more balanced games.
“The growth in member numbers, combined with the moneys saved from withdrawing from QBL, allowed us to appoint Cathie and Don Most of the achievements have come from those two leading a group of committed and passionate volunteers and staff.”
The growth of the Wizards has also resulted in success on the court with the under-14 boys team winning a bronze medal at the National Club Championships last year and the club’s men’s and women’s SBL teams claiming several championships, including both taking home the 2019 titles.
“Off the court has been just as exciting, however I think it is only just dawning on people that our biggest growth and improvements are yet to come,” Anderson said.
”When the two new facilities open and you add the Brisbane Entertainment Centre at Boondall in the mix, we will have the facilities to support continued growth and increase program delivery.
“It will also provide the opportunity to run carnivals, state and national championships.”
Anderson said he expected their membership base to grow even more rapidly after the opening of the two new facilities.
Northside’s senior women’s and men’s teams are also now competing in the revamped Queensland State League competition and face cross-town rivals, the Brisbane Capitals on Saturday at Auchenflower.