I just love basketball.
With an opening statement like that, you probably think I’m about to tell you how I’ve been throwing orange balls at a basket since I was a baby.
But no. Growing up, soccer (or football, if you’re a purist) was my primary sport.
I played that in Shepparton for more than five years before I decided it might be fun to try a sport where my 193cm (6ft 4in) height was an advantage and not a disadvantage.
So, at 18, I began playing basketball at the Shepparton Sports Stadium.
I was immediately shocked by the scheduling.
I thought playing at 9.30pm was a joke, given that Shepparton North is on the other side of town for me.
Getting home at close to 11pm on a work night seemed ridiculous.
I quickly realised that this was not the fault of anyone at the Greater Shepparton Basketball Association.
There are only so many courts, and of course, they never want to turn players or teams away.
With no junior experience, I was awful.
Despite my lack of skills, what immediately attracted me to the sport was how accessible it was.
While I still enjoyed watching soccer, I always understood the classic grievances:
• Nothing happens.
• They just pass the ball around the back.
• The players dive.
• There are only a couple of goals in each game.
But watching basketball, I was instantly captivated.
To me, it is the perfect sport.
At the top level, it’s a beautiful mixture of skill and athleticism.
Seeing Steph Curry splash in a three-pointer from long range is just as exhilarating as watching Lebron James dunk from the free-throw line.
One player, if they’re good enough, can will their team to a win.
A team can also dominate when operating like a well-oiled machine, combining a myriad of drawn-up and practised plays with simple, fundamental decisions to get results.
And beyond that, anyone can play.
You just need a basketball and a hoop.
You can find an old double-rim at your local park or primary school.
You also don’t need two teams of 18 (as in Aussie rules); a one-on-one against your friend can be just as enjoyable as a five-on-five.
Luckily for me, there was a local basketball team that wasn’t too shabby to watch.
My venture into basketball coincided with the Shepparton Gators’ two grand final runs.
Not long after the Gators’ heartbreaking loss in the grand final last year, I started at The News as a first-year cadet.
I’m a general reporter, not a sport reporter.
But I managed to force my way into basketball writing a few months into my tenure.
“I’m at the games anyway — I might as well write about them,” I pleaded to sport editor Aydin Payne.
If you haven’t gone to a Big V Gators game, I highly recommend it; there’s something for everyone.
Last year, I watched the Harlem Globetrotters in Melbourne, and the experience was similar — except the Gators’ games aren’t scripted, and there’s no 135cm-tall dude dancing and taunting the crowd (at least not on the court, my little brother often accompanies me to the games).
Getting to write about and cover the Shepparton Gators has been such a privilege this season.
I even got to commentate on the live stream of the grand final in August, which was a fantastic experience.
The atmosphere was electric, and the win was glorious but bittersweet.
To have that sort of event in Shepparton and have hundreds of people sent home just isn’t on.
It’s not what that team or the fans deserved.
Anyway, after playing basketball for all of one season, I decided to pass on my extensive ball knowledge to the next generation as a coach in the GSBA junior grades.
My first season coaching was spent at the Shepparton Sports Stadium.
My second has been spent entirely at the Visy Community Centre, formerly Wanganui Park Secondary College stadium, due to capacity issues.
I coach a Demons team and am lucky enough to have the Guthrie St stadium available for training once a week.
I know many other clubs and teams aren’t so lucky.
I remember how crucial training twice a week was to my development in soccer.
That’s just not possible for many local basketball clubs, teams and players.
In my men’s team, we have opted to use outdoor courts or drive to Kyabram to play because it’s unlikely we’ll be able to book an indoor court for an hour once a week in Shepparton.
To think we might be losing the next Matt Bartlett or Tom Frame to another sport or town due to our facilities (or lack thereof) highlights the genuine doubt over the future of basketball in Shepparton.
This is such a shame because enthusiasm for the sport is only growing.
These kids are nuts for basketball.
Some of them get up at 6am to train before school.
For them to have nowhere to play and for there to be doubts that local clubs will even be able to accommodate them is just so wrong.
Are we really going to ask parents to put their kids on a waiting list or have their names get drawn out of a hat just to play grass-roots sport in Shepparton?
It’s not just enthusiasm for the game that has grown.
The technology has advanced as well.
After our games, we get sent an email with a link to our player highlights, filmed with an artificially intelligent tracking camera.
On the stadium’s roof, just a few metres away from these state-of-the-art cameras, is a leak that has been there for more than three decades and threatens to halt competition for weeks any time it rains.
It’s like Formula One racing in the Colosseum.
I believe all of Shepparton, but specifically the next generation, deserve better.
And I know so many from our community do as well.
I know you’ve heard all this before and that it’s been an ongoing issue since before I was born, let alone became a journalist.
If you don’t think an upgrade is possible, due to politics, history or whatever, my response would be cliché: it isn’t possible with that attitude.
I’m encouraged by recent community-led initiatives, including the water buybacks convoy organised by Greater Shepparton City Council and the mayor, along with the Rally For The Outdoors at the lake.
We have an opportunity to present a united front on something objectively good for our home.
The continued neglect of Shepparton’s basketball community has forced passionate and dedicated volunteers to do the heavy lifting.
Those people who make everything happen for our junior players deserve better.
These basketball-crazy kids deserve better.
And Shepparton deserves better than that rust bucket of a stadium.
I have faith that the powers that be will do the right thing — if Shepparton stands for its stadium.
The ball is in our court.
Please write or call in and connect with me or anyone here at The News if you’ve got something to say or would like to support our campaign for a better stadium that can cater to our community’s needs.
Phone: 5820 3195
@jaybrycenews on Instagram
Or The News desk at:
Phone: 5831 2312.