Basketball Victoria has rolled out its esteemed list of coaches for the 2022 Australian Junior Championships and among the names is Shepparton’s own Josh Waight.
Waight will lead the under-16 men’s country side again after first taking on the head coach job last year, and was jubilant in reclaiming his role.
“I’m rapt and really looking forward to going around again and hopefully we’ll be able to head over to Perth next year for the national championships,” Waight said.
“I’ve been lucky again this year with two really good assistants and development coach working with me.”
Outside of his Shepparton Gators coaching duties, Waight put in the graft with the under-16s this year.
However, his squad has been denied the chance to strut its stuff at this year’s national championships due to the turbulent COVID-19 situation in Victoria.
The state has been withdrawn from the pot for the coming event which plays out in Darwin from September 26-October 3 — but it’s not all doom and gloom in Waight’s eyes.
“We had six sessions with this year's group and they were all really good,” he said.
“It’s a shame we didn’t get to head off to Darwin to compete, but it was a great learning curve.
“The group we had were fantastic, the way they handled themselves throughout the whole journey was great and it’s a credit to those athletes through the ups and downs of the journey.”
Waight has racked up the miles in his time aboard the state coaching vessel.
Traversing Victoria for camps and competition since first signing on as an assistant coach a handful of years ago, he has thrived in a more senior post and knows the value of working alongside some of the nation's up-and-comers.
“There’s a lot more work in the head coach role, making sure you’re organised and having all the session plans ready,” he said.
“I was initially very lucky to have an experienced coach who’d been a head coach before as one of my assistants as well as another great assistant.”
Now, with a return to play date circled, Waight only has one thing on his mind; Perth 2022.
“Once we can get back on the court we’ll have tryouts and will move on from there which I am really looking forward to.”
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