Stirling Senators

Stirling Senators
Leagues State Basketball League
Founded 1989
History Stirling Senators
1989–present
Arena Warwick Stadium
Location Warwick, Western Australia
Team colors Blue, white, green
Main sponsor Bethanie
CEO Joshua Nipps
Head coach M: Mike Ellis
W: Glenn Clarke
Team captain M: Ashley Litterick
W: TBA
Championships 0 (M)
1 (1994) (W)
Website StirlingSenators.com.au

Stirling Senators is a State Basketball League (SBL) club based in Perth, Western Australia. The club fields a team in both the Men's SBL (MSBL) and Women's SBL (WSBL). The club is a division of the overarching Stirling Senators Basketball Club (SSBC), the major administrative basketball organisation in the City of Stirling. The SSBC was established in 1971 as Stirling Basketball Association, and in 2012, the Club came under the umbrella of Churches of Christ Sport & Recreation Association (CCSRA).

Club history

Background

The creation of the Stirling Senators Basketball Club began in the late 1960s when a group of 15–17 year old boys from the Tuart Hill Junior Basketball Club formed the club because there was no clear pathway for them to continue their basketball careers in the Western Australian Senior District Basketball Competition. Introduced to the sport of basketball by Tuart Hill High School Physed Master Ed Rogers, the boys from Tuart Hill Junior Basketball Club dominated the state's junior competitions through the 1960s and provided the bulk of the Western Australian junior state team representatives. At that time Tuart Hill was a feeder club for the Perth Basketball Club, the leading senior club in Western Australian basketball. Coached by former American college coach Norm Majors, Perth were in a position where they merely selected a few of the best from Tuart Hill. Limited selection meant that many boys would be left with the prospect of not having a senior career in basketball after dominating the sport in junior ranks.[1]

Led by Alan Simmonds, a number of boys from Tuart Hill approached the state association and proposed that a new district association be formed called the Stirling Basketball Association. The Stirling proposal was based on the incorporation of the Tuart Hill Boys and Norths Girls junior basketball clubs in the Stirling Association. The proposal was accepted and the Stirling Basketball Association was formed in 1971, providing a pathway for all Tuart Hill boys and Norths girls basketball players to enter the Western Australian Basketball Association senior competitions under the Stirling name. Nicknamed the Senators, the inaugural Stirling 'A' Grade District men's team competed for the first time in the 1972 season. While Simmonds became the first Club President and team captain, Colin James from New South Wales became the team's first head coach. After just three years in the senior competition, the team competed in its first 'A' Grade District grand final in 1974, losing to Swan Districts by 13 points. The follow year the team again made the grand final, this time against arch rivals Perth. History was made that night as the Stirling Senators won the game with a nail biting one-point victory, winning 69–68. The young boys from Tuart Hill lead by Colin James had become the best senior basketball team in Western Australia.[1]

In 1977, after 5 years of success, the previous years' assistant coach Gordon Ellis took over from Colin James to coach the Senators. Gordon was the father of Mike Ellis, one of the younger players in the 1975 championship team and a future NBL champion with the Perth Wildcats. Under Gordon's direction, the club would continue to be a major force in the state's senior competitions. 1978 proved a milestone year as the club was selected to represent Western Australia in the National Australian Club Championships. This competition was a precursor to the NBL.[1]

At the 1978 Australian Club Championships in Adelaide, the Stirling Senators were the surprise team of the championships. While expected to lose early in the qualifying rounds as previous Western Australian teams had done, the team kept winning, crushing teams by large margins to reach the grand final game where no other Western Australian team had been before. While leading by a point at half time against the highly credentialed Nunawading Spectres led by Bill Palmer and Alan Black, a win was not achieved but the Stirling Senators Basketball Club had proven to be one of the top two teams in Australian Basketball.[1]

SBL

Early years and success

1989 saw the formation of the State Basketball League (SBL) with both a men's and women's competition. Stirling, trading as the Senators, entered a team into both the MSBL and WSBL. While the men missed a playoff spot with a 10–12 record, the women finished in the top four with a 14–7 record.[2] The following year, both teams made it through to their respective grand finals; however, both were defeated, with the women losing 70–67 to the Wanneroo Wolves and the men losing 114–91 to the Perth Redbacks.[3]

By 1993, the Senators women were back in the WSBL Grand Final, but were heavily defeated by the Swan City Mustangs, losing 109–51. The following year saw the women return to the Grand Final for the third time in six years, and this time were victorious, taking out a 72–59 win over the Perry Lakes Hawks to claim the club's first SBL Championship.[3]

In 1995, the Senators men set their best-ever regular-season record, as they finished in second place with 20 wins and six losses. Two years later, the women collected their second minor premiership, as they finished in first place with a 20–4 record—their first minor premiership came in 1990 with a 19–2 record.[4]

Mediocre results

Success eluded the Senators between 1998 and 2006, as playoff appearances came and went for the men, while a number of down years occurred for the women following their 1997 minor premiership. The Senators women failed to set a winning record between 1998 and 2002, and again in 2006. Things turned around for the women in 2007, as they went from ninth in 2006 (6–16) to atop the table in 2007 with an impressive 20–2 record.[4] They made their way through to their fourth WSBL Grand Final, where they once again faced the Perry Lakes Hawks. The Hawks, who finished the regular season tied for second with a record of 18–4, convincingly beat the top-ranked Senators in the championship decider by a score of 66–40.[5]

Following a solid season in 2008 that saw the women finish fourth with a 16–8 record, they had a dramatic fall from grace in 2009 as they recorded just one win from 22 games. In an era that mirrored eerily similar to the tumultuous years of 1998 to 2002, the Senators women had four successive years of sub-par seasons, as they had an overall record of 15–73 (.170 winning percentage) between 2009 and 2012.[4] The men on the other hand broke a run of three straight near-misses in 2011, but couldn't go any further than the first round of the finals. After finishing 10th in 2008 and ninth the following two seasons, the Senators men got hot at the right time in 2011 and were able to finish fifth with a 15–11 record.[6]

Coming off back-to-back playoff seasons in 2013 and 2014 following a four-year absence from the post-season, the Senators women slipped in 2015, managing just four wins to only finish ahead of the one-win Lakeside Lightning.[7] For the men, after missing the playoffs in three of the previous four seasons heading into the 2016 season, they looked capable of being genuine title contenders under new coach Mike Ellis and his son Cody.[8]

Current roster

Notable club figures

Ellis' jersey number hanging in the rafters at Warwick Stadium

Stirling Senators club legend and Perth Wildcats great Mike Ellis was honoured in July 2014 for his dedication and commitment to the club, spanning almost four decades. A presentation took place in which Ellis' #6 jersey was retired. Ellis began playing for Stirling in 1974 at the age of 17, and was in the club's first premiership team the following year. In the early 1980s, Ellis averaged over 30 points a game for 5 consecutive seasons and throughout his NBL career with the Perth Wildcats, he continued to play with the Stirling Senators. After his retirement from the Wildcats, Ellis continued to play with the Senators until 1998. Since retirement, Ellis has continued to be a key figure in the life of the club, contributing on every level from coaching junior and SBL teams to playing key leadership roles.[9]

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "ABOUT US". StirlingSenators.com.au. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  2. ↑ "SBL Standings 1989". CockburnCougars.com. Archived from the original on 2 April 2015.
  3. 1 2 "Past Champions". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 "2015 SBL Media Guide". SportsTG.com. p. 57. Retrieved 14 March 2017.
  5. ↑ Smith, Megan (1 October 2007). "Local Sports Roundup 72". outinperth.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  6. ↑ Kagi, Jacob (26 February 2012). "Season Preview - Stirling Senators". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  7. ↑ Pike, Chris (17 March 2016). "Women's SBL Season Preview – Stirling Senators". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  8. ↑ Pike, Chris (18 March 2016). "Men's SBL Season Preview – Stirling Senators". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
  9. ↑ Van Houwelingen, Laura (23 July 2014). "Senators to honour #6 Mike Ellis". SportsTG.com. Retrieved 15 March 2017.
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