Basketball
4 February, 2025
Munyard's determination pays off
Levi Munyard has been selected for the 2025 Country Victoria State Under-18 basketball team. The team will play in the National Championships at the South Pine Sports Complex in Brisbane from April 6 to April 13. Munyard's journey to the state team has been remarkable. His determination paid off after multiple setbacks.
In 2023, his last year as an under-16, he was on the verge of a call-up to the state team, but a late injury clearance came through the day before they were due to fly out, and he missed out.
In 2024, he had a solid tournament at the Australian Country Junior Basketball Cup in Albury and was named an emergency.
Fast forward to 2025, and as a top age under-18, he has finally reached the goal he has eyed for many years.
The 17-year-old spoke about the moment he received the call.
"I think it was a relief for me," Munyard said.
"I have waited years and years for that call, and finally getting told I am in the team was a relief. I was shaking the whole time during and after the call."
Munyard said that the setbacks just made him work harder.
"I was upset last year being an emergency, and every time I got picked as an emergency, it just made me work harder and more dedicated and determined to get that call," Munyard said.
Munyard has played with the Ballarat Miners for the past year and a half. In February 2024, they won the junior country championships, a significant milestone for Bendigo, and Munyard played a part in it.
Over the last three years, Munyard's parents, Grant and Amanda, have travelled over 1500km weekly to get Levi to his basketball commitments in Ballarat and Melbourne.
It reached the point that late last year, the Munyards decided as a family that Levi should go to school in Ballarat to help with his basketball.
Levi's mother, Amanda, explained their last three years and the hard work they have all put into helping Levi achieve his dreams.
"In a nutshell, he had the State Development Program (SDP) on a Monday night, then was elevated into the National Performance Program (NPP), which was out of Melbourne," Ms Munyard said.
"He trained in Ballarat three nights a week and Melbourne one night. On top of the training, he had the Victorian Junior Basketball League every Friday night.
"When he was named as an emergency in the state team last year, he had to train with the squad for three to four months every weekend in Melbourne."
"It got to the stage where we were doing about 1500kms per week, and at the midway point of last year, we decided it was too hard to manage it out of Horsham and made the decision as a family to have him attend St Patrick's College in Ballarat."
During the commitments out of Horsham, he also trained twice a week with Cam Bruce in the mornings and every day at the Horsham Basketball Stadium, working once or twice before and after school.
Levi thanked his parents for all they had done for him.
"I really can't thank my parents enough," Munyard said.
"They do way too much for me, and I believe they do too much for me, and I literally could not do anything without them.
"They are the biggest influence on my basketball and everything I do, and I can't thank them enough."
Levi also thanked Cam Bruce and his other coaches.
"I'm grateful to have all those coaches help me out and push me through," Munyard said.
"All my coaches have influenced and helped me to where I am now, especially after all the setbacks. I couldn't do it without them.
"Having Cam Bruce help two days before school was good. I reached out to him, and he gave up his time for Micah and me.
With the nationals approaching, Munyard said he wants to work as hard as possible to be in the best form come April.
"I am a high goal setter and will try to be the best in the tournament. I will give myself the best opportunity to be looked at by the coaches," Munyard said.
"I want to be my best, do my best and see where it takes me. If I had a good tournament, I could have been looked at as AIS and other basketball coaches will be watching."
After being a leader in the ACJBC, Munyard's leadership qualities will be important to the team.
"I think my personality and how I play can make me one of the team's leaders again," Munyard said.
"I am probably the most vocal on the team, and I'm happy to fill that job again."
As for the future, the sky is the limit, and Munyard would love to make it to the NBL or somewhere in Europe.
"I firstly want to make the national team, and then from there, I would love to make it to the NBL," Munyard said.
"America would be good, and I'd love to look at college or do something in that regard, but I do like the sound of the NBL and going to the Euro League would be pretty cool."
Levi is honoured to be selected for the team with Micah, as they have been friends since childhood.
"It's great to share the moment with him, but I didn't think we would get this far," Munyard said.
"We used to play one-on-one basketball in the backyard and used to pretend we were NBA players and pretend we were in the NBA.
"If we told our younger selves where we got to now, they wouldn't believe it. It's pretty insane."
"We have motivated each other, and even when we would be shooting, it would be a competition on who wins. We have helped each other a lot and played over 1000 one-on-one games."
Amanda said that she and Grant are very proud of Levi.
"When we started on the basketball journey, we had no idea where it would lead us," Ms Munyard said.
"Levi has had a few knockbacks and rejections but has been determined, resilient, and fought through it.
"We are much more proud of his efforts off the court than on, as we have seen what he had to give up and the hard work he has put in."
"To see him finally achieve the goal he set himself is an incredible moment for Grant and myself, and he thoroughly deserves it."
"We look forward to watching him in April and seeing what the team can do. They are a close group on and off the court, and many of them have played together for years, and they have a special bond."
Ms Munyard elaborated on what he has had to give up.
"He has given up a lot of time for his basketball and hasn't been in Horsham much. He has always been on the road," Ms Munyard said.
"It takes a lot of effort to have an athlete travel the distances he has to get to training sessions, and he doesn't make excuses; he does what he needs to do.
"He has missed out on forming friendships in Horsham as we have had to take him out of school early to get him to places."
"On top of that, he has to stay on top of his schoolwork and manage both his basketball and schoolwork, which is not easy."
"When he started, he was 14. They are only teenagers and have learned a hell of a lot."
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