By Justin Schwarze
Best mates Aston McCallum and Ollie Main have both been selected to represent Victoria Country at the upcoming Southern Cross Challenge.
The Challenge, a tournament which features teams from around the country, will be held at the State Basketball Centre in Knox from 17 to 20 January.
Both boys will represent the region in the under 14 age bracket and will compete against the country’s best for that age.
“I feel honoured to represent this part of Victoria,” McCallum said.
“I am a bit nervous because it’s a really big tournament, but I’m also really excited at the same time.”
For Aston and Ollie, it’s not just a dream to represent Victoria, but it’s also an unreal feeling to do it alongside the best of friends.
“I’m just super grateful for the opportunity to represent Victoria with my best mate,” Main said.
Both boys grew up playing domestic basketball before the pair moved on to the Pakenham Warriors in the Victorian Junior Basketball League.
Since then, McCallum has shifted to the Casey Cavaliers, and Main has moved onto Warragul.
The two boys decided to test their skills against high-level competition when they registered for Basketball Victoria’s skills day in March 2024, before being selected for the organisation’s training program.
The training program ran for 12 weeks, with two hour sessions weekly that combined a wide variety of structures, skills and development.
During the training program process, multiple rounds of player cuts were conducted until the boys found themselves selected for the Gold Nugget camp, a high-performance camp for state level talent.
“All the different cuts, other people getting cut, you have to realise how grateful you are and how lucky you are,” Main said.
“So, you’ve got to make sure you continue to work to keep your spot.”
At the Golden Nugget camp, with high profile coaches and scouts around, both boys performed well enough to be selected to play in the Southern Cross Challenge.
But the boys were not just selected for the Challenge…but both for Vic Country, and both for the same team!
It’s an incredible achievement for two best friends as they once again share the court together; but this time on the national stage.
“To be able to share this success is a great feeling, because I know if I win, Ollie wins,” McCallum said.
Main is also pinching himself for the opportunity to represent his state.
“I’m proud of myself but it’s overwhelming at times, knowing you’re actually going to represent Victoria,” he said.
“But there’s also very exciting times ahead.”
The boys will look to learn as much as they can from the coaches and the experience, both to develop their games but also develop their characters.
“It’s going to make me trust my teammates knowing I’ve got nine other guys on the team that are also representing Victoria, and I know they’ve all worked hard for this,” McCallum said.
With the Challenge just days away, the pair has already gained so much from the journey to this point.
“On the court the experience has already impacted me a lot knowing I have my best mate, especially through the training camps,” Main said.
“Off the court I know it’ll make us more connected and even stronger.”
