Ricky Baldwin is a very proud and passionate GUNAI KURNAI man. From a young age Ricky embraced of his Aboriginality, spending his early years at his local Aboriginal Co-op and learning more about his culture. His mother was from the stolen generation, and he experienced first-hand the trauma this caused.
This fuelled Ricky determination to be a strong voice for his people and eventually be a part much needed change. Ricky’s passion growing up was Basketball and he played at high level, winning National Championships and travelling the world. It was in his older years after a highly successful coaching career, coaching dozens and dozens of Basketball teams to championships, that Ricky became involved in Indigenous Basketball Australia. From there he went on to create history for Australia coaching the Australian Indigenous women’s Basketball team and winning a world cup at the International Indigenous Basketball and Cultural Tournament.
From there Ricky turned his focus to working with Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander children, after seeing their raw talent but also understanding the obstacles and barriers that the kids face when playing sport. And there he started his very own Basketball Academy to overcome some of these obstacles and provide kids with an opportunity to be in a cultural safe, fun and welcoming environment. Through his camps the kids not only developed their basketball skills, but also connected to their community and embrace their culture.
Koorie Academy has already achieved great success in its first years of operation and now sees basketball camps held in Aboriginal communities across the state of Victoria. In Ricky’s spare time, he to enjoys connecting to his culture and is a very talented artist, making traditional artefacts including highly sort after Coolamons and clap sticks.
