Hawks Making a Difference

Last Saturday night the Hawks showed true community spirit and provided a fantastic experience for SIDE ( School of Isolated and Distance Education) student Tom Molloy. Tom’s teacher Amy Hamilton volunteers on game night and her son eldest son Cooper is a member of the NBL1 West Team. Tom needed to get some work experience hours as part of the requirements for one of his SIDE courses and the Hawks administration team were approached and were more than happy to accommodate Tom. The Hawks also reached out to Men’s head coach Damian Barr to see if Tom could attend the pre-game talk and listen to the strategies in place for the game.

The Perry Lakes Hawks NBL1 staff and teams took him under their wing and Tom was a part of the game night team for the night. Tom wants to be a sports commentator so he had his computer set up to listen to the live commentary as well as seeing the courtside announcer in action. The Hawks organised a special desk for Tom that worked with his wheelchair and he was ready to go!

Tom went in for the men’s pre-game talk, post game celebrations and got to meet many of the players and see how a game night works with streaming commentary and the live announcer.

Tom was also taught by our DJ Paula from Retriever Sound how to use the keyboard and do the defence sound effects for the game.

Tom and his mum Vanessa also met Wildcats legend Andrew Vlahov whose daughter Ruby plays in the Women’s NBL1 West team.

The Hawks loved having Tom and it was a win for the men and women so Tom was a good luck charm on the night

Thank you to our amazing Hawks administration, players, coaches and game staff for making this a truly memorable experience for Tom. Thanks also to Tom and his mum Vanessa for attending.

I think the Hawks have a new fan!!

Tom did a special game report for his school which you can read below:

On Saturday the 31st of May I was invited to watch the Perry Lakes Hawks men’s and women’s NBL1 West games at Bendat Basketball Centre. Both teams were playing the Southwest Slammers, who travelled from Bunbury. I was introduced to the media team when I first arrived including the DJ, the social media manager and the court side announcer. While the women’s team were warming up for their game, I was lucky enough to meet their captain, Mia Satie, who was super excited I’d come to watch. Mia took a photo with me and then continued her warmup.

After this I had the privilege of meeting four time Olympian Andrew Vlahov, whose daughter Ruby Vlahov plays for the Hawks. He took a photo with my mum and I and then had a short chat until he needed to leave. The women’s team entered from the lit up tunnel one by one while music played and the announcer introduced them. Standing in the middle of the court side by side both teams stood while a ‘Welcome to Country’ took place and the national anthem played. Following this the players took a few practice free throws and shortly after the game started at 5:00. The game was competitive and fast but the Hawks held on all game and won by 24 points.

In the last 5 minutes of the women’s game I was invited by the men’s coach to tour the change rooms before the players arrived, and when they came in after their warmup they all greeted me with hellos and a tap on the shoulder. The coach let me listen in as he gave them their pregame instructions and talked through the plan of attack. After the women’s game ended I left the change rooms and the men went onto the court to do some more warm up shots. They then went and changed into their uniforms and were introduced individually by the announcer. Similarly to the women’s game they did the welcome to country and national anthem, then the game began at 7:00. It was another extremely competitive game however the Hawks were the better team and won by 7 points. During this game the DJ let me control the defence chant, so any time the opposing team got the ball I pushed the button that set off the chant.

At the end of the game I was invited onto the court to take a photo with the entire men’s team and I got individual photos with Jaden Stanley-Williams and Davin Miller, the 2 American imports. After the game I was invited into the change rooms and got to be in the middle of their circle as they sung the team victory song.

I’m incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to experience this, thanks to my SIDE teacher Amy Hamilton. GO HAWKS!