Team mourns ‘big brother’ after tragic US shooting
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MOUNTAIN Creek High School basketballers will wear black arm bands when they contest Sunshine Coast schools' semi-finals today in the memory of an outstanding former captain gunned down in the US.
The school has been consumed with grief following the loss of one its favourite sons, Brenton Estorffe, who was shot protecting his young family from intruders who had broken into their Texas home.
Counsellors worked with students who saw Brenton as a "big brother" and teachers were in tears through the day following news of his loss.
The Bachelor of Business captained the Mountain Creek High team to two national titles in the last years of his secondary education before taking up a basketball scholarship.
Teacher Liz Smith has been close to the Estorffe family since Brenton captained the first open side she coached at the school.
She described Brenton as being like one of her own, an exceptional player who, despite being incredibly short for the sport, made up for a lack of height with his speed, dynamic athleticism and cheeky nature.
Mrs Smith said Brenton was one of a family of four children who grew up in Mountain Creek.
Before travelling to Melbourne for the first of the school's two open national titles, Brenton, unable to find his blue team cap instead grabbed his sister's pink one.
So was born the school's "baggy pink cap". The school couriered another 10 down to the team.
By tournament's end people were lining up to buy one from the players. All offers were refused.
Brenton moved to the US to take up a college basketball scholarship after high school.
When he was spotted kicking a ball around during a break, gridiron was quickly added to the scholarship.
"Come out Aussie, kick this," Brenton told friends his coach would call, professing that in three years of playing he remained clueless about the game.
A minute's silence would precede the open bots final of the Sunshine Coast High Schools Basketball Championships next week.
