Sharon Plichta jokes she can’t stay away from the basketball court.
She made her debut in the senior ranks as a teenager and on Sunday played her 350th game in the Sunbury Jets’ Big V state championship win against Southern Peninsula Sharks.
Along the way there has been several club changes, individual awards, championships and even retirement.
For the Jets veteran, getting to game 350 is a milestone.
Plichta said playing it at Sunbury was even more special, having played most of her career outside her home town.
“It’s taken a long time and I’ve had some really great moments and milestones, and made some great friends,” she said. “Back when I was a junior, Sunbury didn’t have a team in the league that I wanted to play in.
“I really wanted to have many more years at Sunbury, the club is close to home.
“Seeing the club back at this level is amazing.”
Plichta said the friendships that she had made out of the game, along with the championships, were the highlights.
“Some of my best friends I’ve met are through playing basketball at different clubs,” she said.
“People I played with 10 to 15 years ago. I played against Chelsea [Burns] in the early 2000s and now I’m playing alongside her.”
Plichta made her senior debut with Bulleen in 1995, in the then Continental Basketball Association.
Joining the Boomers opened up the doors for her to become a training partner with Bulleen’s Women’s National Basketball League team.
It was an experience she will always remember.
“I wanted to focus on playing basketball coming out of school,” she said. “I was 17-18 … I suited up for a couple of games and didn’t play a lot. I did get to train alongside the likes of Michelle Timms.”
As well as playing for the Boomers, Plichta spent time at Hume City Broncos and Waverley Falcons, before moving to the Werribee Devils in 2008. The move to the Devils, which were playing in Big V division 1 at the time, saw Plichta combine playing and coaching.
It was one of her most successful periods of basketball, winning the division most valuable player, golden hands award and her first championship in 2009.
“I was lucky to get the individual awards and am always grateful,” she said.
“Personal goals are great, but winning championships top the cake.”
After two years at Werribee, Plichta moved to Altona Gators as captain-coach where she led them to a championship, her second in as many years.
She spent three years at the club, before taking a year off with the birth of her first child.
Plichta played one last season with the Devils before retiring to focus on her young family.
That was until a phone call from Sunbury Jets’ youth league women’s coach Andrew Seidel ahead of the 2016 season.
Once back at the club, Plichta soon got the playing bug.
“I wasn’t doing anything and I put my hand up to help coach.
“The senior women were training at the same time, I had a conversation with [coach] Kennedy [Kereama] and got back training with them and it went from there.”
The decision resulted in a third championship as the Jets went through the division 1 season undefeated.
Plichta then had the 2017 season off having her second daughter, but stayed involved as an assistant coach with the women’s side that claimed the state championship title.
It left Plichta with a decision, did she want to make one last comeback?
“I spoke to a few people, including my husband, and they told me to go for it. I wanted another championship and game 350.”
Coming off the bench, Plichta provides leadership to a group that has had a more up and down season than the last couple of years.
She said finals were still well and truly the aim.
Plichta said this season will be her last as a player.
While family will be her main focus, Plichta said she would look at more coaching opportunities in the next few years.
