By Tania Phillips
Like most of us Stanthorpe basketballer Tom Petrie has been a keen viewer of the Australian Men’s basketball team at the Paris Olympics over the past two weeks.
However, unlike most viewers, Petrie has dreams of making it to that level and someone to watch the games with who has already been there.
Petrie, who has just returned from the 2024 Under 16 Basketball National Championships, has gone to live with his uncle (a former Boomer) on the Gold Coast to attend renown sports school The Southport School. Former TSS alumni Jack McVeigh is in the current Boomers line-up in Paris.
Petrie’s dad, well-known rugby league player Damien Petrie said it was exciting but sad news that he has, as of a couple of weeks ago, just started school down on the Gold Coast. The move comes after a couple of years of travelling to play for teams in Toowoomba and Gold Coast.
“He’s quite enjoying it but we’re kind of missing him a bit that’s all,” Damien Petrie said.
“The thing that touches your heartstrings as parents is – do you be there with them and make the move. But he’s really lucky in the respect that my brother is down there so he’s living with my brother and sister-in-law and their kids so its kind of a bit of a smoother transition than being put into boarding school so he’s enjoying that.
“I think he’s just enjoying everything that goes with it, it’s a big change for him. Talking about the Olympics, we all know the statistics of people that go on to do it at a professional level, or a much higher level. It (the move) is not about that but he does have a dream and he really wants to go as far as he can with it and a part of that means making a few sacrifices. One of those was – hey mate – mum and dad are struggling with this driving to Brisbane and the Gold Coast two and three times a week so you might have to change schools. But he’s taken to it like a duck to water – he’s really enjoying it.”
For Tom and his sisters have played basketball since they were young following their parents who are two of the coordinators of the local Stanthorpe competition. His mother played Netball for the Firebirds in the National League and Damien played State League Rugby League while his Uncle Anthony played basketball and played professionally.
“He’s getting an insight – I love Uncle Ant and he played for Australia – so I’d be lying if I didn’t say there was some sort of genetics at play there,” he laughed.
But right now it’s just about playing the sport that he loves to the best of his ability. Though he is already starting to attract attention.
“He’s 14 and a half years old and he’s just gotten back from Bendigo where he was at the national basketball championships playing for Queensland,” he said.
“He was a bottom ager in the Under 16s team, he’s eligible to go and play in that team again next year if he was to be good enough.”
The boys defeated Victorian Country 96-94 to place finish fifth in the tournament which was won by Victorian Metro.
The competition included metropolitan and country teams from most states with Queensland splitting their state into North and South.
“Tom was in the Qld South Team and they were fifth from 12 competing teams,” Damien Petrie said.
“He went Melbourne in January as part of the Under 15s team Qld Emerging team and he played really well down there – in his own age group. They do that as an identifier to say – maybe next year we could look at him for the 16s but he and two other boys actually selected out of the emerging team into the 16s in the same year which is a bit of a feather in their cap as youngsters.”
Damien said he has playing representative basketball for several years.
“As an eleven year old he made the Darling Downs school sports team and has made Darling Downs teams ever since,” he said.
“He’s played some rep stuff, playing in the Junior State League which you can’t do from Stanthorpe so he’s represented for that and he played for the Gold Coast this season and the season just gone.”
