In early 2013, Chudire Lap was an aspiring basketballer, and like most kids his age, played a lot of pickup basketball at his local courts on Butterworth Park in Koondoola. But all that changed in March 2013 when he joined the Edmund Rice Eagles. Chudire has since grown from an everyday street basketballer into an U16s WABL player.

TOP picture: Edmund Rice Eagles team

Middle picture: Edmund Rice players with East Perth Eagles SBL players.

Bottom picture: Churdie Lap running the ball up the courtagainst the East Perth I16 WABL Reserves Team.

The Edmund Rice Eagles is a partnership between the Edmund Rice Centre Mirrabooka and the East Perth Basketball Association, and is designed to provide pathways for aspiring basketballers into structured basketball.

Youth Programs coordinator at the Centre, and coach of the Street Eagles, Joe Moniodis, explains the philosophies behind the project “We believe that every kid that walks on to a local park should be able to reach the highest potential that their talent and determination will take them. We want to break down all the other barriers, like cost and transport.” Moniodis said, “There is a tremendous amount of talent that is not being recognised at all levels. The beauty of this program is that it connects grassroots to high performance all the way up to the State Basketball League (SBL) level.”

The program is run in a grassroots setting, a local park, but the sessions are high performance. “We have acquired a tremendous amount of coaching experience over the years, and this is all put into practice in our sessions, which are intense, develop talent, are enjoyable and are open to everyone. If you think about it, these kids are playing grassroots basketball already, so we needed to give them something more,” Moniodis said.

Chudire, who came to Australia after his family fled war torn South Sudan, has been with the Edmund Rice Centre’s programs since 2010, joining the after-school multisport program. He has also been a part of the Leadership Program as well as the Edmund Rice Centre Lions, an AFL team consisting of players from refugee backgrounds. But it was the Edmund Rice Eagles that captured Chudire’s talent and passion. “I have played lots of sports over the years, but I love basketball the most. This team gave me so much.”

In late 2013, all of the Edmund Rice Eagles players were invited down to an East Perth development program, a precursor to WABL selection. No one was more committed to this program than Chudire. “I thought this was a great opportunity, and that I better take it if I wanted to be a serious basketball player.” Chudire’s sister, Par, also came down to check out the sessions, and was asked to join as well. Her talent for basketball was quickly recognised and after several months of high performance training which culminated in trials, both Chudire and Par made their respective WABL teams.

In 2014, Chudire is captaining the Edmund Rice Eagles, providing mentoring to younger players and inspiring them with his achievements. The team is off to a great start, beating Mirrabooka Senior High School 30-14 and drawing with the East Perth U16s reserves WABL Team in a triple overtime thriller, 33-33. After games, the Edmund Rice Eagles players are invited to sit behind the East Perth Eagles bench to watch their matches and have pizzas with the players afterwards, and relationships are building. “Sunday is my favourite player”, Chudire said, referring to Sunday Dech, an East Perth Eagles player of Sudanese Origin.

It’s a win for the program and the partnership between the Centre and East Perth. “The program initiated by the Edmund Rice Centre has enriched both the Edmund Rice Eagles players and the East Perth development teams. The association between the two bodies has been able to identify players with the potential to take the next step, whilst also providing the ER players with a reason to pursue playing basketball for their own development and enjoyment,” said Gerry Howard, a Board Member for the East Perth Basketball Association, who has been involved with activities run by the Centre since 2007. “We have been involved in delivering basketball programs to Culturally and Linguistically Diverse youth in partnership with the Centre for a number of years now and I think we have found a winning formula.”

The Edmund Rice Eagles are supported by the Department of Sport and Recreation and the Department of Local Government and Communities, along with the East Perth Basketball Association, Basketball WA, the City of Wanneroo and Fair Game. For more information about how you can follow and support the team, please contact the Edmund Rice Centre on 9349 9660 or email ercyouthleaders@gmail.com.