In a league that lost Tromsø Storm Ungdom and Midtbyen and was down to five teams, Ammerud’s return is welcome.

Ammerud disappeared from the Women’s League after the 2014/15 season and Høybråten before last season, but Oslo Øst are now back with a team that looks competitive and exciting.

– We have a lot of good players, but it’s about finding good chemistry and getting the girls to work together as a team. Have a good time and have fun, says Ellen Hamremoen, who has a pool of 16 players from which to choose her team.

– But it’s difficult to say more now, the team is brand new. They can be good individually, but we have to see and feel who plays well together and responds to the principles, explains Hamremoen.

She is the only female head coach of the BLNO and completed the FIBA ​​coaching training, FECC – FIBA ​​​​Europe Coaches Certificate this summer.

Lived in Ukraine last year

Ammerud signed two important players, Makana Stone and Alexandra “Sasja” Polishchuk.

Stone played a central role for Bærum last season and averaged 18.7 points and 12.2 rebounds. Polishchuk, who was a member of Ukraine’s U20 national team, led Tromsø Storm Ungdom as a point guard and continues to combine basketball and studies at the University of Tromsø.

– I live a little here and a little in Tromsø and I’m doing a master’s degree in international politics, focused on peace, explains this 36-year-old woman born in Lviv in Ukraine and who moved to Vancouver in Canada at the age of 10 years. .

Last year she visited her father in Lviv for four or five months.

– But it’s in the far west of the country, almost on the border with Poland, so you don’t feel like you’re living in a war zone. You hear the sirens from time to time, but otherwise everything is on the news like in the rest of Europe, Polishchuk says.

– Well done

When Tromsø Storm Ungdom had to withdraw the team, the Ammerud option suited the experienced goalkeeper well.

– I’ve really settled in here. We have balance, aggression, size, strength, speed and both experienced players and others just starting their careers. Ellen did a great job putting together a roster with all the roles well covered and both rebounders and shooters, she points out.

– The six teams in the league seem pretty even, so it seems exciting and I’m looking forward to it, says Alexandra Polishchuk.

From Bærum to Ammerud

Makana Stone is confident that Ammerud will establish himself well in the league. Bærum will not have any imported players this season, but the 25-year-old was determined to continue at BLNO.

– I wanted to return to Norway, I really like it here – both the culture, the people, the lifestyle, everything. And when Ellen contacted me this summer and presented the plans to Ammerud, I was interested. We’re building a strong team here, so it’ll be exciting to see what we can do, says Stone.

Julia Heiden, originally from Sweden and Högsbo, is 1.88 m tall. She grew up playing basketball with an American father who was a professional basketball player in Europe and played for, among others, Jämtland, Kvarnby and Plannja.

– She played in U19 for Högsbo, but didn’t get much playing time in the league as they have a team with several imports. Now she wants to go to university and has Oslo as a stopover, says Ellen Hamremoen.

Kelmendi only on the bench?

Flaka Kelmendi, who was central for Høybråten, should have been an important player for Ammerud this season, but the fullback who played for Kosovo at the Small Countries EC in Cyprus last summer is out with a knee injury. The 25-year-old will now become Ellen Hamremoen’s assistant coach.

– She has had knee problems for some time and has now undergone meniscal surgery, so she will not play anytime soon, says Hamremoen.

Three more players will come from Høybråten’s team in 2021/22: Henon Ogbazion, Adrianna Berg and Milena Rumenova Kodzhailieva.

Ogbazion will hopefully secure a place in the starting five with Polishchuk, Stone, Heiden and Josephine Traberg (30), most recently at Ullern in the 2021/22 season.

Ammerud also received U16 national team player Andrea Fergem Faal with a parallel playing permit from Kjelsås.

Discovered in a 3×3 tournament

While the Latvian Samanta Straupmane was discovered by Ellen Hamremoen during a 3×3 tournament in Skur this summer.

– During the last match, I suddenly saw a girl in one of the boys’ teams, she moved very well and looked like a basketball player, so I thought I should talk to her, says the new Ammerud coach .

Straupmane, 26, has not played actively for eight years, but is now thriving at Ammerud, alongside her husband Janis Prilins, who is part of the club’s BLNO men’s team. In the hallway, the couple’s little daughter crawls with a babysitter.

– We take care of the babysitter so that both can train, specifies head coach and president Hamremoen.

AMERUD

Coach: Ellen Hamremoen.

Assistant Coach: Flaka Kelmendi.

LINEUP 2023/24:

2 Flaka Kelmendi, 3 Henon Ogbazion, 4 Josephine Traberg, 6 Melissa Sude Balkan, 7 Julia Heiden, 8 Viktoria Lyngstad, 9 Tiffany Da Silva Lopes, 10 Adrianna Live Berg, 11 Julia Elisabeth Bellander, 13 Andrea Fergem Faal, 14 Milena Rumenova Kodzhailieva , 17 years old Pia Gudmundsen Reeves, 21 years old Madelen Rundbråten, 22 years old Alexandra Polishchuk, 23 years old Makana Stone, 29 years old Samanta Straupmane.

Probably from 5: Polishchuk (Straupmane), Traberg, Ogbazion, Stone, Heiden (Bellander).

Opening match: Ammerud – Bergen Elite, Apalløkka Sunday October 8 at 2:30 p.m.