In 1987 a re-zoning of parishes saw Holy Trinity Primary School opening its doors in Eltham North, through the new primary school the parent group realised that a local basketball club was needed to encourage their boys and girls to participate in sport outside of school. John Hudleston and Anna Potesta (founding president and secretary respectively) founded the basketball club and joined Diamond Valley Basketball Association the same year. The Association agreed for the club to utilise the colours of the Holy Trinity School, the maroon and light blue, which is still the club colours to this day. The Jets uniform was designed by another Holy Trinity parent, Anna Barro. Even though the club’s history began from Holy Trinity Primary school, over the years the families who join have come from a wide range of local schools, including, Glen Katherine, Eltham North, Wattle Glen, St Francis Xavier and Yarrambat.
From the very first year Eltham North Jets have had strong teams competing, the first year saw an amazing 11 teams entering into the boys and girl’s competition through to today where there are over 300 kids competing each week in the maroon and light blue uniform. Our focus for each player and their families has remained the same, to teach, develop and offer players the opportunity to learn the fundamental skills of basketball while instilling values such as teamwork, discipline & respect in a supportive, family-friendly environment continue to be our focus today just as it was all those years ago. A testament to this fact is the number of players and their families who continue to be involved with Jets well past their playing days.
We are extremely proud of our tradition of maintaining consistently large numbers of homegrown players. Many players that started with Jets in U8-U10 are still playing and, or coaching today, which offers a depth of experience and passion for our club. We are now seeing the next generation of coaches, our juniors, giving back to our great club, passing on the lessons they learnt to a whole new generation of Jets players.
Eltham North Jets have produced some amazingly talented players over the years that have seen players at championship level representing Diamond Valley, Victoria and Australia at the National and International level. The club can provide a pathway for players to follow their dream of playing basketball at the highest level with several past players gaining scholarships to AIS and prestigious American colleges.
