You need to turn the clock back to Athens 2004, the Paralympics debut of Tristan Knowles & Shaun Norris, to find a Rollers team that had more debutants than the upcoming Paris campaign.
Of the six making their introduction at the Paralympic level, the wild-haired Frank Pinder from Perth, Western Australia – looms as a cult figure in the making.
The 23-year-old defender emerged from the Perth Wheelcats program and will take his first trip to a Paralympic Games this month. It will be a special moment for Pinder who will travel alongside debutants Jaylen Brown, Luke Pople, Phil Evans, Eithen Leard and Tom McHugh.
“Yeah, I mean Jaylen, Eithen, Tom and myself all played U23’s together. And I think we've all vastly improved from that point. So, it’s been good to see that we have all progressed to a similar level and been able to take that next step together,” said Pinder.
Pinder, a one-pointer, found his game progressed organically with opportunity. First with the Wheelcats back home and then with the national programs.
“It all started at the Wheelcats and the pathway opened up with the U23 Spinners program. I went on a trip to Canberra in that age group with a bunch of young and raw guys. It wouldn’t have been a good watch, we were all pretty fresh to the game,” said Pinder.
“And then, everything sort of happened at once. I was elevated to the evening sessions at the Wheelcats and started to understand the game more and through the U23’s I was on the Rollers radar. At the same time I started getting big minutes with the Wheelcats. The starter unexpectedly retired in the early stages of the season, and I was dropped into the primary for the role.”
Pinder acknowledges Rollers veteran and Wheelcats team mate Shaun Norris as an influence, who alongside Tristan Knowles will feature at a historic 6th Paralympic tournament this August.
“I think by proxy having Shaun in WA has been a factor. He kind of saw me and took me under his wing,” said Pinder.
“He’s been around for a while and has a lot to give. Being in Perth, Tom McHugh and I have probably been able to absorb parts of Shaun’s game whilst doing our own thing as well. We’re close as a team over there and it’s great to be able to practise and learn from him,” added Pinder
Although six debutants in a 12-player team jumps off the page, Pinder is quick to point out that the group have been connected and have evolved from the team that finished 7th at the 2022 World Championships.
“I think we’re definitely meshing. We've been able to implement the style we want to play and interchangeabe skillsets across the lineup. Obviously, we have some key players like Bill (Latham), who’s pretty important to most of our lineups, but otherwise we've added a versatility,” said Pinder.
The body of work from the current Rollers group speaks to Pinder’s comments.
The current Rollers group competed together at the IWBF Asia Oceania Championships to qualify for the Paralympics in January and followed it up by running the table on international competition at the IWBF 2024 Easter Tournament in April. Pinder was named in the All-Star 5 for that tournament in Blankenberge.
A trip to the USA followed for the Coastal Continental Clash in June and the Rollers showed they could match it with the best, defeating the USA in the opener – and confidence continued to grow with a sweep of Japan at the Ford BALLIN’24 Series in Melbourne.
Although the game continues to change and has undergone a total transformation from the Norris and Knowles debut in Athens over 20 years ago, the core principles remain the same for the Rollers.
“If anything, it’s about the fight. Our internal mantra is FLF or fight like ****. It’s been the mantra and it’s what the older guys always bring,” said Pinder.
“Having guys like Shaun and Knowles in their late 30’s – 40’s and still being incredibly fit, skilled and setting the tone. I mean, Shaun set personal bests in his testing before this tournament and he’s 39.”
“The culture sets a standard and we’ve been given the license to bring our own energy into it. Everyone is accountable and there are no free rides on the 12.”
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