By Tania Phillips
While most 10-year-olds have been kicking back during the first week of the school holidays, 10-year-old Stanthorpe basketball champion Greta Stibbard has been living the dream.
Stibbard has been part of the Toowoomba Mountaineers representative side playing at the Queensland Under 12 State Titles in Brisbane from 19-22 September.
The youngster, who only started playing in October last year and has taken to the sport like a duck to water.
“She wanted to play in the Stanthorpe competition with her cousins,” mum Bek Stibbard said of how the youngster got into the sport and progressed onto the Toowoomba Mountaineers representative side.
“This is her first year of basketball after playing in the Stanthorpe competition. She has improved greatly. They don’t play positions as such in this age group.
“She started training twice a week in Toowoomba from June and played every Sunday in Brisbane, Sunshine Coast, Gold Coast, Ipswich and Toowoomba.
“It was an incredible opportunity for her to learn and develop her skills under coach Monica Conway and assistant coaches Wendy and Kinah.
The side played well across the four-day event, finishing the titles in seventh place in Division two.
Greta was the only Granite Belt player selected in the Mountaineers Under 12s boys or girls teams
“That is the end of the season for the Moutaineers now but the Stanthorpe competition will be starting again in term four,” her mum said.
And the youngster will be keen to test out her new skills when she is back playing with her cousins in her home competition on the Granite Belt in the next few weeks.
