A year ago, Alex Darby couldn’t imagine she would be playing for Sunbury Jets, let alone have had the impact she has in Big V youth women’s division 2.
Having played only local basketball previously, Darby made an impact, not only on her teammates but on the competition.
Last Saturday, Darby was named in her division’s all-star five and was named rookie of the year. She had also been nominated for the youth women’s division 2 most valuable player award.
Speaking after being named rookie of the year, Darby said she was shocked at how she had made the transition.
“Definitely didn’t expect that in the first year,” she said. “I thought I would have struggled a bit with the structure, as I’d never played basketball like that before. I played some domestic games and that was about it. I just played netball other than that.”
It was the repeated attempts of Jets’ youth league women’s coach Andrew Seidel that signed Darby to the Jets.
“Seides rang me and told me to think about it,” she said. “He kept ringing me for weeks and weeks and I thought I would go down and have a go.
“I honestly didn’t have any expectations. I don’t normally walk into things by myself and I didn’t know anyone. It was pretty daunting.”
The awards cap off a season that saw Darby and her teammates play off in the grand final.
“It was unreal, especially for the girls who have been there for so long. They pretty much won six games the year before and only one to two games the years before that,” she said.
“It was unreal for them to get to the grand final. It probably wasn’t as big for me being my first year as I didn’t know what to expect.”
Darby will make the transition into the Jets’ division 1 side next season.
“Rookie of the year is a really good achievement and, hopefully, I can jump into div 1 next year and have the same success next year.
“I played a few games [in division 1 this season], and it’s a bit different to youth league. Youth league is more my style; I like to get out and run in transition. Div 1 is a bit slower, and they are all bigger and stronger.”
She doesn’t have any regrets about stepping onto an unknown court.
“It makes me want more.”
Jets’ Billy Feben was named in the youth league men’s all-star five side, while Luke Valentine was named the men’s division 1 golden hands winner.
