Kilsyth has a better junior program but not by much well depending what age group

Kilsyth's junior program, both for boys and girls, has been among the state's best for many years.

Ringwood, on the other side, uses juniors more as a way to bankroll its senior programs which is not a bad way to go, but unfortunately has led to junior rep being more of a glorified domestic program; 7-8 teams in each age group (for boys, at least) is way too much and proves the above point.

Further to this, Ringwood's 1s teams barely make it past Met 1- Met 2 at best, whereas Kilsyth's 1s consistently feature at the top end of VC in almost every single category and age group.

So, nowhere near comparable to Ringwood.

That said, Kilsyth has recently seen a huge number of good coaches leave the program and this has resulted in parent-coaches taking over which is more often than not a recipe for disaster; watch this space in the next few years as it may get ugly at junior level.

The saving grace for Kilsyth is the club's reputation and access to talent.

Hope this answers it.

Comparing Ringwood and Kilsyth junior VJBL rep programs is like comparing David and Goliath - albeit Ringwood (David) is never going to knock down Goliath (Kilsyth) as Ringwood has little junior talent compared to Kilsyth.

U12 boys 2023: Kilsyth 4 x teams in Met or better, Ringwood 3 x teams in Met or better. Seems to me both clubs are moving forward well at the grass roots level, likely a set of excellent coaches. My impression over the years is that Kilsyth is more 'sets' focused and Ringwood more ‘fundamentals’ focused at that level. A prospective player and parents may wish to consider that, as have seen a lot of players burn out with the ‘sets’ (read: winning) focus and quit playing altogether by 13-15.

Definitely either of these clubs though before considering Blackburn, Warrandyte and unless you are really local, Bulleen and Diamond Valley (which outside their 1s also seem to be underperforming compared to a few years ago - see U12 teams list).

Consider very carefully what the club’s attitude is to teams other than their 1s. At some, the development of all players is important and at others, if you are not in the 1s you are left in the wilderness.

Ringwood's VJBL team summary - highest grades...number of teams:

Boys
U12 - VJL1 / 6 teams
U14 - VJL3 / 7 teams
U16 - VJL5 / 7 teams
U18 - VJL3 / 6 teams

Girls
U12 - VJL2 / 2 teams
U14 - VJL4 / 2 teams
U16 - VJL4 / 4 teams
U18 - VJL2 / 3 teams

They have no VC teams!!!

Ringwood has more boys rep teams that Kilsyth (and Nunawading) in each age group, but do not have anywhere near the same quality, and has far less girls teams without the quality also.

Correct me if I am wrong, but Ringwood are basically allowing any domestic players who want to play rep to do so, thus in turn helping raise revenue to fund their NBL1 programs.

LC, spot on! Ringwood is using its junior rep program to bankroll its NBL1 teams.

Having 8-10 teams per age group certainly doesn't scream quality, both in players and coaches.

It's essentially domestic teams in rep competitions, which totally defeats the purpose of rep basketball.

That's the MO for a tonne of programs now

Interesting as was just looking in to this for my son who is interested in rep age group.

I think from what I can see the above summarises it well.

Ringwood appear to want to look good with expensive outlay for kids and take as many kids as they can find parent coaches for. Where as Kilsyth a lot more selective with how many teams and who should even try out for rep, which is a lot more how I remember it being growing up.

But seems a lot of clubs are taking the Ringwood approach of seeing it as another source of revenue rather than going back to having 2 teams that 'represent' the club not just a free for all.

I am definitely a 'boomer' when it comes to how long VJBL has become and how it has become about the money for clubs and BV.