Specialists

Hoop Time

Future Stars Mixed – Vermont Victory    By Raf and Isaac 3LS

Hoop Time is a basketball competition between primary schools. We played in the Future Stars Vermont Victory team. Our teammates were Raf, Isaac, Will, Nate, Julian, Azahlia and Ian. Some of the players were in Year 4. Thanks to Mrs Tarenidis for organising the day and being our coach.

We played at the Nunawading Basketball Centre. One of our games was tough—the other team got a technical foul for pushing our teammates in the back for no reason. We just laughed it off and kept on playing.

Our team won the whole tournament, winning every game by more than 20 points. We all received a medal. In the final, it was Vermont versus Vermont. We all enjoyed our Hoop Time experience.

Future Stars Mixed – Vermont Victory    By Ian 4ED

We boarded the bus with our teammates, heading to the Nunawading Basketball Stadium. When we arrived, we huddled in a corner and organised our things. Mrs Tarenidis told us when and where we were playing.

After waiting for about an hour, we finally got to play. Our first game was at 10.10am on Court 1. Although it was an easy match, I was still nervous.

It wasn’t long until our second match came. We were still crushing our opponents, but each game got harder and harder.

Before our next match, we had a quick snack, then headed to Court 4. This game was easier than the others, but the other team still managed to score a bucket or two.

Later, we found out that we had made it to the semi-finals! My team and I were super excited. We made our way to Court 3 and gathered in a huddle. The match began at 1.30pm.

Two minutes in, we were winning 14–0. The other team played rough and even pushed one of our players down. He was immediately taken off for his poor behaviour. We won the semi-final and we were into the grand final!

After lunch (I had a hot dog and chips that my mum bought me from the canteen), it was finally time for the big game. This one was much more nerve-racking than the others. In the first half, I scored a goal and made a few good passes. In the last two minutes, Riley from the other Vermont team scored a three-pointer.

We ended up winning 29–9 against the Vermont Vikings. We were thrilled and even won medals! A crowd of students came to congratulate us. We also found out we were going to the Regional Finals for Hoop Time on the 29th of October — but most importantly, we had lots of fun!

Future Stars Mixed Grand Final – Vermont Vikings By Riley 4ED

The game had started. The ref threw the ball up, and Ben and Nate went for the jump. Nate won, and Ian brought the ball up before passing to Julian, who scored an easy bucket. Thomas brought it up for our team and passed it to Archer, but it was stolen by Azahlia. Nate then scored.

I subbed in for Alex, and Archer went off too. I didn’t realise the other team already had the ball, so they got an easy score. I quickly sprinted to grab it, brought it up the court, but got trapped by Azahlia and Nate, and turned it over.

After half-time, our team started with the ball. Azahlia and Nate trapped me again, and I turned it over for another easy score. Thomas lost the ball on the pass-in, and Azahlia took a shot but missed. Julian got the rebound, passed back to Azahlia, who missed again. Nate came flying in for the rebound, but Will grabbed it and scored.

With three minutes remaining, I passed to Ben, who brought it down and scored a jumper. On the next play, I intercepted Julian’s pass and scored a three-pointer.

The final score was 9–29. My team, the Vermont Vikings, lost to Vermont Victory. After our team huddle, we got on the bus and headed back to school. A big thank you to Mr Burgess for coaching us!

Mixed Rookie Team – Vermont Mustangs  By Emma 4ED

We were boarding the bus, and my heart leapt. Every step I took, my brain became more clouded. I started thinking of all the possible scenarios, even if I knew they probably wouldn’t happen. The bus took off, and I realised my dream was becoming a reality.

When we arrived, we quickly sorted into our teams and began the games. Our first game started at 9.50am — it was close, and we tied in the end. We then had a 20-minute break before our next match, so we drank some water (since it’s important to stay hydrated) and had a snack. With a few more matches ahead, our team discussed tactics for playing against stronger, taller, or more aggressive opponents.

Our second match… we won by a whole lot! In our third match, we won by 11 points. For the fourth and fifth matches, we tied one and lost one — the loss was very close. A big thank you goes out to Mrs Shoebridge for coaching us and supporting our team throughout the day.

I then went to watch the Vermont Marvels play. After their game, we all gathered for the Grand Final, where surprisingly, it was Vermont vs Vermont. So altogether… it was a Vermont Victory!

On the bus ride home, my friends were waiting for me, firing off multiple questions — I didn’t even get to answer half of them. I was overwhelmed by how many kids from 4AS were there, since quite a few had gone to Hoop Time. People even asked me about the finals, and I summed it up in one, two, or maybe three words. It was entertaining!

Future Stars Girls – Vermont Marvels   By Mina 4AS

On the day of Hoop Time, I was pretty worried about the matches that lay ahead of me. I mean, imagine for a moment that you were playing with girls you’ve never met before. And a coach. Oh, and mostly a sport you had never played before. But it turned out to be great! 

In about two minutes as our team got together for good, I had everyone’s names remembered like the back of my hand. As the bus ambled up onto the steep road, Eva and I talked about some weird things we didn’t really care about. And when we arrived, we had a blast. 

Emilia’s mum had gone to accompany and coach us. She was great and helped us to learn and was so kind when I told her I’d never played before. Her daughter had lots of experience and shot goal after goal, free throw after free throw. 

My team at Hoop Time consisted of Rona, Emilia, Eva, Mikayla, Emily, Jasmine, Olivia and me. It was brilliant. We tried our best and earned 3rd place. I would like to give Mrs Pruden a big thank you for coaching and encouraging us.

Future Stars Girls – Vermont Marvels   By Rona 4ED

I was so anxious. My friends were at Hoop Time for ages. When they got back, I fired questions at them.

1. How was Hoop Time?

   – An amazing experience.

   – Tiring!

2. How many matches did you play? Was it fun?

   – I played five matches, and it was fun.

   – I played four matches, and yes, it was fun.

3. What was the highlight of your day?

   – Eating a hot dog.

   – Dominating the other teams.

Future Stars Mixed – Vermont Venom   By Clovis 4ED

As I walked into school at 8.20am, I was shivering. A few days earlier, I had volunteered to play basketball in a Vermont Hoop Time team. At 8.45am, we boarded the bus, and a few minutes later we arrived at Nunawading Basketball Stadium. Vermont Primary School had six teams playing.

Everyone had a minimum of three games to play. My team played four games, even though we didn’t make the finals. Thank you Mr Straughan for coaching us.

Two Vermont teams made it to the grand final — Vermont Vikings vs Vermont Victory — where Vermont Victory came out on top.

At the end of the day, we hopped back on the bus to return to school.

Future Stars Mixed – Vermont Magpies  By Ethan and Darren 4JS

The Vermont Magpies played in the recent Hoop Time Competition. It was a close and exciting competition, and we had so much fun playing alongside our friends. We played three matches in total and were thrilled to progress to the semi-final. Even though we didn’t win that match, everyone played with amazing enthusiasm, and our teamwork was next level.

Our team would like to give a huge thank you to Mrs Tarenidis for organising such a great day as well as Mr Constantino for coaching us.