JackJumpers put to work on First Official Day of Practice

The JackJumpers playing squad and coaching group have laid the foundations of hard work and humility on day one of official preseason with a hard days work off the court.

Head Coach Scott Roth again led a unique initiative at some of the JackJumpers Partner businesses – SRT Logistics, Willie Smith’s & Sons and Bulk Nutrients - to set the tone for the JackJumpers’ 2023/24 NBL campaign.

“We’re going into our third year now, and this is about working shoulder to shoulder with Tasmanians and learn what our sponsors and our fans expect from us” Head Coach Scott Roth said.

“It’s a chance to eat some humble pie and realise what we get to do is a privilege, most people go to work 8 – 5 everyday, and day’s like today are to honour that and learn our place”.

Import Marcus Lee players spent a laborious day working across the Willie Smith’s Apple Shed, Rook Wood Orchard, Packing Shed and Cidery, as well as in Bulk Nutrients’ warehouse packing orders, testing products and loading stock.

“It brings a lot into perspective, they come into work like this happy and joyful, and we come in and it’s hard and tiring, they’re just doing it with a smile. SO it just reminds us when we’re at practice that we’re able to play basketball for a living” Lee said.

“I had no idea what we were going into this morning, I would’ve packed better shoes. But I couldn’t have picked a better first day of practice” he said.

This year SRT Logistics took a number of players into their business operations cleaning and packing trucks, delivering goods and operating machinery.

Managing Director Rob Miller started in the business 25 years ago alongside his father transporting meat across Tasmanian butchers, and has grown the business to the success story it is today transporting Tasmanian produce and goods to supermarkets and stores all over Australia.

“Back then it was about 5 staff and maybe 6 trucks, now its 400 staff with depots in Hobart, Launceston, Devonport, Sydney and Brisbane” Miller explained to the players.

“The association with Andrew at Willie Smith is a good example of the reach we have and the service we provide – he grows and picks apples, we go pick them up in the truck, we deliver some around Tasmania and the others we put on a ship and then his product is being purchased in a supermarket in Brisbane or Sydney or Melbourne” he said.

“We work for the growers and producers in Tasmania getting their goods to market and then we also work for the retailers getting their products into Tassie to get them on to the supermarket shelves for you to happily buy”.

Milton Doyle, Jack McVeigh and Will Magnay were among the group that joined SRT Logistics truck drivers to deliver goods to schools and retailers across Hobart as well as to charitable organisations like Foodbank.

“Our players are comfortable on the basketball court. We could put them through rigorous weights or scrimmage sessions but that’s not necessarily building their character and resilience, and that’s huge for me” Roth said.