Basketball Academy

Meet the Mikes

Academy Co-Captain Katerina Z recently interviewed the head coaches and founds of the CHS Basketball Academy, Mike Torres (MT) and Michael Fortune (MF). Thank you Katerina for this insight into the origin and ethos of the CHBA!

What year did the academy begin?

The academy was planned in 2020 and became an official academy in 2021.

What are the future plans for CHS academy?

The future plans are to introduce more mental wellness exercises in our curriculum. We are working with professional basketball clubs like the Melbourne Boomers to provide mentorship from industry leaders such as sporting executives and business executives, we are also working on an internship for our captains with the Melbourne Boomers at the end of the year. We are also looking towards doing a lot more off the court to help students achieve their goals and dreams and so that they are better prepared for life after high school. M.T

What special has happened in the academy so far?

Everything in the academy has been special. The most special thing is the inclusion, no matter what ethnicity you are, no matter what gender you are, no matter how tall or how small you are, everyone has been embracing everyone. It’s been very special to see all the kids come together and almost turn into a safe haven, a place where all the kids wanna hang out. We got kids coming in doing homework before and after school, we got kids who aren’t even scheduled with practice still being on court and in the weight room putting in that extra work. For the year 7/8 the academy cup is always something special to look forward to, as well as the tournaments for the older year groups. The academy is just a positive environment for students to just be a part of.

The most special thing is that students in the academy make the kids outside want to be on the inside. M.F

What makes the CHS academy different from other school academies?

We use basketball as a tool to help young people and I believe that there is no other environment where kids are getting that 1 on 1 treatment and being able to open up and talk about their personal feelings and aspects of their life. The academy is all about emotion, we’ve seen tears, anger, happiness, and laughs that make everyone else laugh, it shows that the students trust us, and you won’t be able to find that at any other academy.

We could care less if we win a tournament or a game, our main goal here is to grow young students. M.T

Fun fact about the coaches

Two fun facts about me is that I do fashion modelling and podcasting M.F

I love spending time at home and with my kids. After spending all my hours on court, I love to do something spontaneous with my family on the weekends. M.T

Tournaments

In Term 1 our basketball academy students took part in the inaugural HSBL round robin.

Also invited were Northcote High school and The Grange Community School. The event was a massive success. Each team played a set of competitive games, showcasing everything they’ve learned through the first couple years.

Our new coaches AJ and James made their coaching debut.

The HSBL Round Robin series will run throughout the school year providing High school programs a competitive and safe playing environment. Our most recent round robin series was on April 5th at Coburg Basketball Stadium, we'll tell you more about that next time!

Mike Torres

Head of Basketball