McKinnon Basketball Association (MBA) is proud to celebrate eight-year-old McKinnon Cougars player Aston, who has been named the Hungry Jack’s Ultimate Rookie as part of the NBL’s Rookie Round celebrations.
Selected from nominations across Australia and New Zealand, Aston was recognised for his determination, resilience and commitment to basketball after overcoming the disappointment of an unsuccessful representative basketball tryout.
This year, Aston set himself his biggest basketball challenge yet, trying out for representative basketball for the first time. Despite his hard work and enthusiasm, his name was missing from the team list following his first tryout.
His family reflected on the disappointment in their nomination to the NBL.
“For an eight-year-old who had worked hard, believed he could make it and wanted it so badly, it would have been very easy to decide that representative basketball simply wasn’t for him.
“But Aston didn’t. He kept training. He kept shooting. He kept turning up.”
Determined to continue pursuing his goal, Aston backed himself again at the McKinnon Cougars tryouts.
As the selection process progressed and the group of players grew smaller, Aston continued to earn his place, eventually securing selection in the Cougars junior representative program.
His family shared the lesson Aston had taken from the experience.
“At eight years old, Aston learned that sometimes you can work hard and still hear ‘no’. He learned that disappointment doesn’t mean failure.
“Not because he never got knocked down. Because he got knocked down, picked up the basketball again, and kept going.”
As the Hungry Jack’s Ultimate Rookie, Aston has won $1,000 for the McKinnon Cougars and the opportunity to take to the court at John Cain Arena when Melbourne United hosts the New Zealand Breakers on Monday 2 November.
Hungry Jack’s Rookie Round, running from 28 October to 2 November, celebrates the young players, coaches, volunteers and communities helping basketball grow across Australia and New Zealand.
Aston’s story is a fantastic example of perseverance, resilience and the importance of continuing to work towards your goals, values MBA encourages throughout its junior basketball programs.
Congratulations to Aston and his family on this fantastic recognition! We look forward to following his basketball journey as a McKinnon Cougar.
Read the full story on NBL.com.au.