What ANZAC Day means to Jeremy Jones

By Lachlan Everett for NBL1.com.au

The Sutherland Sharks women’s head coach Jeremy Jones holds ANZAC Day in a special light. 

Jones served for two years before suffering a spinal injury that forced him medically discharge - he was working towards becoming an artillery officer before his injury. However, he has always been a basketball fan and played in the Australian Basketball Association (ABA) before attending the Royal Military College (RMC).

“My service was unfortunately over far too quickly,” Jones said. 

“So it was very, very short service for me. But in that time I made some lifelong friends, many of whom are still serving.” 

Each year on the 25th of April, Jones reaches out to all of his friends he made in service, stating that his years in the RMC are dear to him and many of his brothers and sisters in service. 

“ANZAC Day means a lot to me,” he said.

“We catch up and speak about what we experienced, obviously, their experiences are significantly different to mine. You know, some of them have had some pretty bad injuries, and some of them are still very active. 

“Some of them have just gotten out and moved on into a new phase of life, but we all get together and have a chat…. It’s a very, very special day to me.” 

Jones said it’s not lost on him that his club is one of two teams in the conference playing on ANZAC Day, explaining it means a lot to him to have the privilege of honouring fallen soldiers with his club alongside him.

“[We’re] playing on such a special day, we're commemorating not just fallen soldiers, but anyone who's been in the service and contributed to the service,” he said. 

“Doing something special and being able to play on a day like ANZAC Day is just an amazing honour. It's something that we had a chat about with the team last night, so they all understand what a privilege it is. Not many people get to do that. I certainly never got to do that.” 

Some of the great basketball coaches have a military background and Jones said his experience of leadership within the military has helped him lead the teams that he’s coached throughout his career. 

He explained that the skills in leadership he learnt while in service are translatable in being a basketball coach, such as inspiring and motivating differing personalities towards a common goal. Jones explained everyone has different things going on in their life, but trying to unite and pull everyone in the same direction is something he learnt while in service that has benefited him as a coach.

Jones and the team are still awaiting the return of 2022 NBL1 East Defensive Player of the Year and WNBL Champion Lauren Nicholson. But in her absence, many players have stepped up for the 4-2 squad going into Round 6. 

“Maddie Norris has been an amazing leader for us, even though she may be hasn't had the performances on the floor that she would have liked up until the last game,” he said.

“Liv (Olivia White) has been amazing, just setting the tone for us defensively, which has been excellent. And then Emily Garland has kind of come out of the blue for us. She wouldn't have been on many people's scout sheets at the start of the season and then she jumped straight into what I was asking her to do. She’s had some really big games for us, which was excellent.” 

The Sutherland Sharks will host the Illawarra Hawks on ANZAC Day in the NBL1 East Game of the Week, streaming Live & Free via Kayo Freebies from 3:30pm AEST here.