Hoop City Carrum Downs

George spent last season playing for the Keysborough U20.1 Boys team as well as working hard as a coach for the Keysborough U16.1 Boys team. George has an abundance of experience teaching peers and children of various ages, successfully improving and elevating their game.He always brings enthusiasm, a smile and finds ways to make working on your game fun!

Hoop City would like to introduce Ben Van Leeuwen as our new Strength and Conditioning Coach. Ben has been working as a Personal Trainer for 25 Years & owned his business "The Health Hub" in Mt Eliza for 15 years. Ben has played with Frankston Blues & Mornington Breakers as a junior and Western Port Steelers Men's team in 2013. He has also worked with Frankston YCW and Caufield Grammar Senior Football teams as well as a number of junior athletes from different sports. Ben says "I'm excited to be working with the junior athletes at Hoop City, helping them benefit from strength and conditioning and see them thrive in their sport".

Michael has been playing and coaching basketball for over 25 years, both at a domestic and representation level. He played Youth League and Big V when he was younger (Sunbury and Keilor). Michael was lucky enough to be an assistant coach at a Division 2 College in America for 3 years; BYU-Hawaii (2011-14). Michael has been working at Dandenong Rangers since 2018; started off working as a Training Coach for Youth League and Assistant Coach for U20s Boys (Victorian Championship Winners) for 3 years. He has head coached U18 and U20 boys for the past 3 years for the Rangers, and will be continuing as the U20s Head Coach in 2025.

Paul Brotherson (aka PB) has been involved in basketball in both a player and coach capacity for over 25 years and has recently moved to Melbourne from Sydney. Paul was the Head of Basketball at The Pittwater House Schools, where he was managing both the Junior and Senior school basketball programs. Paul represented NSW in U18s & U20s, he then attended Metropolitan State University of Denver (formally known as Metro State College) where he lead the team to the Elite Eight in the NCAA D2 Championships. Paul continued his basketball career by playing four years as a professional in Germany and for the last two years has been playing in the NBL1 East competition for Hills Hornets. Paul is passionate about the development of players in all levels. He prides himself on creating inclusive and fun environments for kids and young adults to thrive. In his spare time, Paul enjoys playing golf, fishing and being active.

Cullen plays Under 20 1s for Mornington and has played for the club since 2022. He recently represented his school at the 2023 National High school Championships. He enjoys sharing his love of basketball with anyone who wants to improve. Cullen hopes to one day become a student athlete in the US college system and is working towards that goal.

Jake worked his way through the VJBL system at Westernport as a player from U12's to U20’s. He coached U14's-U20’s at Westernport and Mornington at Representative level as well as an U18’s girls team at Frankston. Jake's desire is to help anyone with a passion for hoops.