Formed ten years ago because of a now forgotten split within Coffs Harbour Basketball ranks, the tight group of determined Bellinger Valley Association parents with their young offspring established the original Braves junior teams that have now grown into a formidable regional sporting dynasty.
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Being the smallest basketball association in Northern NSW in terms of playing numbers and also being the only basketball association without their own stadium or even their own single court, Bellinger Valley Braves hire the magnificent two-court facility at Bishop Druitt College for all their team training and development programs.
BVBA executives constantly work extremely hard in the recruitment of quality accredited coaches and team managers and with a pleasing migration of excellent players from within Coffs Harbour, Bellingen, Urunga, Macksville, Nambucca and as far away as Port Macquarie and Forster sees the proud Braves banner flying high on the Northern NSW Junior Basketball League totem poles.
Playing against traditional powerhouse associations like Tamworth (six home courts), Coffs Harbour (five home courts) Port Macquarie (three home courts and three more under construction) plus Armidale, Quirindi, Ballina, Byron Bay, Lismore, Grafton and Taree all with their own stadiums, Bellinger Valley Braves have hurdled that major obstacle by attracting the very best team coaches and team managers in Northern NSW.
Another significant plus is everyone at BVBA is a volunteer, they have no paid staff at any level, as a result individual and team playing costs are kept at bare minimum levels.
Currently, the majority of Bellinger Braves teams sit comfortably on top of their respective ladders midway through season 2016 with Braves division one under 14 girls and Braves division one under 14 boys looking particularly strong whilst the other six Braves junior teams are either on top or poised one win away from taking the coveted position.
In term three 2015 Bellinger Basketball launched an innovative talent athlete search program under the banner “Warriors” mostly within primary schools in the south of Coffs Harbour.
From that Warriors squad came the 2016 Braves under 12 boys team and a quality Braves under 12 girls’ team, competing against the best of the best between Newcastle and the Queensland border.
From humble beginnings Bellinger Valley Basketball Association teams have become tough but respected opponents at every age group level as they build their playing numbers in the hope that one day they will have their own basketball stadium in the region.
