The week's Macedon Ranges Guardian Sport Star of the week is 11-year-old Miranda Jones of Kyneton. The grade five Kyneton Primary School student is making giant strides as one of the rising young guns in the sport of basketball. Miranda is an enthusiastic member of the Kyneton Basketball Association. She is an emerging young gun who possesses great speed, agility and a little bit of extra height to give her an edge over her opponents. She plays in a variety of positions and is a great offensive and defensive rebounder. She started playing basketball three years ago and loves any chance that she has to go out and shoot some hoops. She started playing thanks to her dad who played a lot of basketball while growing up and she naturally took the game on through his great love of the sport."She took to it straight away," proud dad Rob said, "she was around very enthusiastic people."Miranda started her basketball journey when her family lived in Northcote. She joined a development program in Collingwood and that gave her the skills to get her going in domestic competitions. Her family moved up to Kyneton two years ago and she slotted in comfortably in the exciting environment of the Kyneton Basketball Association. Last year she played in the Under 12s and Under 14s at domestic level. Basketballers were encouraged to get as much court time as possible to assist them with the confidence and team building to play representative matches. Miranda has had a stellar run in recent seasons. She won the Most Valuable Player award in the Under 12 Girls premiership team that competed in Ballarat over the Queen's Birthday weekend. She was a clear stand-out across the tournament and deserved her award in a very strong team that featured many outstanding stars. She was a valuable member of the team that won the premiership in Traralgon earlier this year. The team is coached by Alan Simmins and has worked wonders for Miranda and the team. The squad was on the receiving end of some heavy losses 12 months ago and they have since grown to be one of the most feared teams in the state. Alan has implemented a terrific defensive game plan that has made them very hard to score against. Miranda has learned lots of valuable tips from him as coach in order to be a better team player and sports person. "He has been a good influence on Miranda," Rob said.Outside her love of basketball, Miranda has played tennis in Kyneton for the last 12 months. She is coached by Marcus Wills who has been terrific in her development of skills as a tennis player. She loves being in the outdoors and has a great group of friends."She is pretty fun, has good character, lots of energy and looks out for people," Rob said.Miranda would love a career in sport but she also has a great love of animals and nature that might encourage her to follow a career path in nature.For being featured as our Macedon Ranges Guardian Sports Star of the week, Miranda wins a $40 gift voucher to Amped Skate n Surf in Kyneton and may call in to our Market Street in Kyneton to collect his prize. If you would like to nominate any youngster doing their best in their chosen sport, contact our sports desk by calling 5422 1488 or email - sport@elliottmidnews.com.auThe award seeks to recognise sporting achievements and is as much as for those just doing their best as it is for those who reach great heights.
(Top) The Macedon Ranges Under 14 Girls basketball team finished runner-up in Ballarat over the weekend - Ellie Neale, Emily James, Sam Turner, Hayley Bourke, Lisa James (coach), Taylah Lee, Jordan Athorn and Yani Dyer.
(Middle) Under 12 Girls Ballarat premiers - Amelia Andrews, Jaimeson Plant, Maddy Lee, Kasey Ward, Miranda Jones, Mackenzie Cameron, Taryn Cairnes, Adrienne Cameron and coach Simmo.
(Above) Under 12 Division Four premiers – BVCC Traralgon - Taryn Carines, Mackenzie Cameron, Maddy Lee, Miranda Jones, Jaimeson Plant, Ellie Torney, April Sims and Adrienne Cameron.
Basketball lifted off into overdrive at the Ballarat Minters Basketball Tournament held over the Queen's Birthday weekend. Kyneton entered an Under 12s and Under 16 Girls team while a combined squad of stars from Kyneton and Woodend combined for a Macedon Ranges team to play off in the Under 14 Girls competition.The Under 12 Girls came out to play and put on a sparkling display of hard running basketball. They lost just one game during the preliminary rounds, to archrivals Castlemaine in the opening game, 23 to 12. This gave the girls plenty to look at in terms of improvement and gearing themselves up for a more polished performance against Ararat in the second game. They swept the floor with the opposition to dominate in a convincing 32-point win, 47 to 15. This gave them lots of confidence in game three where they defeated a strong Altona team by nine points, 22 to 13. They advanced through to the qualifying final full of running and defeated a competitive Bendigo Gold by 10 points in a game in which they had to work hard and show great teamwork against strong opposition. They prevailed 24 to 14. The Kyneton girls advanced through to the semi-final against the previously undefeated Kilsyth for a spot in the grand final. This was one of the great games of the tournament as both teams defended well and took strong defensive rebounds to prevent their opponents from getting the follow-up shot. Kyneton persisted hard and won in a thrilling contest by six points, 21 to 15. They advanced through to the decider to take on the determined Wild Cats. The girls were switched on from tip-off and led from the front with a strong 15-point win, 32 to 17 to be crowned the Ballarat tournament premiers. Congratulations to the squad of Amelia Andrews, Jaimeson Plant, Maddy Lee, Kasey Ward, Miranda Jones, Mackenzie Cameron, Taryn Cairnes, Adrienne Cameron and proud coach Alan Simmins. This week's Macedon Ranges Guardian Sport Star of the week, Miranda 'Mandy' Jones, was crowned the tournament's Most Valuable Player. Jacki Plant and Lisa James joined forces to coach the merged Kyneton and Woodend teams to form an Under 14 Macedon Ranges team. The girls were amazing with their performances and worked hard as a team. This is a credit to the girls gelling together at training and adapting to each other's playing styles. They went through the preliminary rounds and the opening rounds of the finals undefeated before going down to the all-conquering Sunbury Braves by three points in the grand final. The squad consisted of Ellie Neale, Emily James, Sam Turner, Hayley Bourke, Lisa James (coach), Taylah Lee, Jordan Athorn and Yani Dyer. Congratulations to the girls on their efforts and they should hold their heads high. The Kyneton Under 16 Girls were coached by Ash Clarke. They won all of their games except one and missed out on the grand final by percentage only. They should be congratulated on their endeavour to play well as individuals and as a team.Kyneton Basketball Association has celebrated plenty of great success already this year. It had representative teams in the Basketball Victoria Country Commission Traralgon tournament earlier this year. The Under 12 Girls won the Division Four premiership in a stunning performance. The squad consisted of Taryn Carines, Mackenzie Cameron, Maddy Lee, Miranda Jones, Jaimeson Plant, Ellie Torney, April Sims and Adrienne Cameron. The Under 14 Boys finished runners-up in the competition. Cello Matricardi and Ash Clarke coached the team. Martin O'Sullivan coached the Under 18 Boys in a good performance.The Kyneton U14 Girls squad had a wonderful tournament also in Bendigo earlier this year and finished the tournament advanced through to Division Three.The winter season is now underway with the Under 10s, 12s and 15s taking to the court. Contact the association if you wish to play.
