Four members of the Under 18 Brisbane Capitals Gold Men's Team Archie Smith, Jack Mackenzie, Jacob Wilson and Tim Weigh will fly to Perth in April to represent Queensland South at the Australian Under 18 Championships. This will be a week and a half before they pursue the Under 18 State Championship that Brisbane won last year at NAB Stadium. The fact that Brisbane has four players representing Queensland illustrates the success of the Brisbane Capitals program and is the greatest representation of players by an association in the team.

Development Manager and QBL Coach Dale Ryan said "It’s a great achievement and a credit to the 4 boys who have put in the hard work and dedication to get their game to a level to be selected to represent Queensland. From a club perspective it is satisfying to know that the opportunities we provide our players in the form of development, coaching and competition is of a standard that enables players to make the step to the next level."

For these four young men, this will be nothing new for them as they have 12 State Team representations between them. "With their experiences to date both at State and National level I believe the players can look forward to an exciting opportunity to be part of a team which has a genuine chance of winning a medal at these Nationals" said Ryan.

With Brisbane year in year out continuing to be able to have players develop their games to make Queensland teams, Australian squads and go onto to make careers out of basketball with an increasing number going onto play in American Colleges, the development pathways available at Brisbane are looking better than ever. "It is a major goal of the Capitals Junior Rep program to provide a pathway for players to be selected for Queensland. In having Archie, Jacob, Tim and Jack selected to represent Queensland I believe is a credit to the many volunteer coaches at Brisbane Basketball who give up their time and knowledge to assist these players in the growth and development of their game. With a number of players over the past few years progressing through our junior program onto the next level (QBL, US College and NBL) we feel we are delivering a pathway second to none in this state enabling players to reach their potential and realise their dreams."

With Dale having several years of experience coaching at National Championships winning a National Campionship is never easy. He knows too well that the Under 18 Championships can sometimes be the toughest as young boys become men. "As much as this is a junior tournament the level of skill and athleticism of some players is indicative of what a player could expect playing at a senior level with a number of players having already had international experience through the AIS and Australian National Junior Programs. This will provide a challenging environment for players to test their abilities against some of the best players in the country."

We were lucky enough to get them to answer a couple of questions on what life as an aspiring basketballer has been like for them so far. Please click here to read the profiles of each of the boys.