Wednesday 25 June 2025
Message to Parents – Addressing Recent Public Comments
Dear U12 Boys Division 3 families,
I wanted to address some recent public comments that have been made regarding our club and coaching arrangements from several weeks ago.
As you know, Brett stepped away from coaching with our club, and I have been coaching the Under 12 Division 3 ‘Vortex’ team since then. Recent public comments – both on social media and in conversations within our local community – have unfortunately misrepresented the circumstances around his departure and unfairly targeted one of our other volunteer coaches.
As Brett lives locally, some of you may encounter him and hear his version of events. While everyone is entitled to their perspective, I want you to understand the full context of what occurred.
At Northern Beaches Heat, we are committed to building an inclusive environment where every child can develop their basketball skills, confidence, and love for the game. We believe that basketball should be fun, supportive, and focused on each player’s individual growth – regardless of their current skill level.
Our coaching philosophy centres on:
We will never compromise on these values, regardless of a coach’s experience or background.
I want to be clear that the recent public comments do not reflect the true circumstances and unfairly blame other volunteers who are dedicating their time to our kids. Our coaching decisions are always made in the best interests of our players and club culture.
Brett observed our teams for several weeks before voluntarily agreeing to coach. No one was forced into any arrangement. However, I interpreted his subsequent private communications to me as containing extremely disparaging comments about the skill level of the children he had agreed to coach – comments that I felt portrayed the players as being beneath his standards and suggested they were undeserving of quality coaching.
This attitude is fundamentally opposed to everything we stand for at Northern Beaches Heat. We believe every child deserves encouragement, respect, and quality coaching regardless of their current skill level.
Additionally, I want to address the manner in which these concerns were raised publicly. Posting comments on social media using fictional names (perhaps inspired by popular TV shows) that mention specific individuals, including current volunteer coaches, is not a constructive way to address club matters.
These types of public posts can be damaging to individuals and our club community. In future, I strongly encourage anyone with concerns to contact me directly so we can discuss and resolve issues appropriately and professionally.
If you have any questions or concerns, please don’t hesitate to reach out to me directly.
Thank you for your continued support of Northern Beaches Heat Basketball Club.
All the best,
Dave Thomas
President
info@nbheatbasketball.com.au