THE word recess is normally a death-knell for a sports team.
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Rarely does a club or franchise return after a hiatus.
The chances of resurfacing as a powerful contender are even slimmer.
This is why Warrnambool Mermaids are bucking the trend and the Louise Brown-coached roster deserves kudos for the position it now finds itself in.
The Mermaids returned to the Big V competition in 2017 after three years in the wildnerness and won a championship.
It was an emphatic statement. They won 19 of their 20 regular season fixtures to finish atop the division two ladder. And notched semi-final and grand final cleansweeps.
The Big V wanted them to prove they had the foundations to be sustainable.
Their success gave the Mermaids the reward they wanted most – a return to division one in 2018.
It was always going to be a tougher task but the Mermaids are chasing a top-two finish – and the bonus of a week off come finals – with two games to play.
Current-day players, such as veteran Katie O’Keefe and talented teenager Molly McKinnon, are the public face of the Mermaids’ success story.
But it’s the work behind-the-scenes which Warrnambool prides itself on.
Dedicated basketball people like Kate Sewell, John Wormald and Brown are putting the building blocks in place to ensure the Mermaids don’t sink again.
Female sport participation drops off in the mid-teens, leaving gaping holes in programs across Australia.
It’s hoped Sewell’s commitment to teaching Warrnambool’s junior girls will help stamp out this trend locally and give the Mermaids a continual line of up-and-coming players to pick from.
Brown, who returned to the south-west after time in Queensland, “saw a lot of potential in a lot of people in the town”.
She was determined to help the Mermaids return. She knew a women’s program would stem a dropoff at junior level.
“They needed something to aspire to and they needed those positive role models in their life,” she said.
“It gives a pathway for those kids to get to. The boys had it, so why shouldn’t the girls?
“The juniors we have are holding their own in this league as well – Molly McKinnon, Lily Killey even Leah Bartlett, Grace Rodgers have started to get some minutes so the future is bright for Warrnambool basketball.”
Its division two championship was “a bit of fairytale really” but a division one title would further justify why people worked so hard to get the team back up and running.
“The top six teams in div one, on any day anybody can win. It is not as clear-cut as division two was,” Brown said.
“I can now say I was quietly confident when we were playing division two – I would never have said that at the time. This year is going to be a lot harder but it’s not out of reach.”
The Mermaids and Seahawks host Geelong Supercats at 6pm and 8pm respectively on Saturday.