Leeton shire's young representative basketballers making waves in many competitions, teams

Leeton shire had seven players - Kobe O'Callaghan (under 18s), Xavier Chilko (under 14s), Josie Irvin (under 14s), Amelia Irvin (under 18s), Bree Gillespie (under 16s), Jez Lashbrook (under 16s) and Solomon Liu (under 16s) - selected in the NSW Basketball D League.

The aim of the D-League is to identify talented players and coaches, who are competing within the NSW Spalding Waratah Junior Leagues and to assist with their development by having them train, play and coach against each other in a tournament-style environment.

Both Kobe and Solomon have also been selected in the State Performance Program, which exists to assist in identifying, developing and preparing athletes in the under 16s and under 18s age groups to represent NSW at the Australian Junior Championships.

Josie and Solomon will have a busy summer after both were selected to represent in the Southern Cross Challenge in Melbourne in their respective age groups.

They will play against several sides, including NSW Metro, Vic Metro, Vic Country, South Australia and Western Australia.

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This is the highest level of competition available to players aged 15 years and under.

Meanwhile, Xavier Chilko will represent NSW Country at the Australian Junior Country Cup in January, playing against sides from Vic Country, SA Country, Tasmania and NZ Country.

This places Xavier in the second tier of competition for NSW Country.

Amelia, Kobe and Jez Lashbrook have also shown their on-court skills to be selected to represent at the Summer Shootout in January. They will represent NSW Country against NSW Metro in a league scenario from January 4 to 8.

Leeton Basketball Association president Kasey Sullivan congratulated the players on their efforts.

"The selection of these athletes is a result of their dedication, not only to their training programs, but also their commitment to the extensive travel involved in attending these events combined with the support of their families and assistance of our local coaches," she said.

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