If you’ve visited Shepparton Sports Stadium on a Saturday night you’d be forgiven for thinking Gators players Matt Bartlett, Thomas Frame and the rest of the squad own the place.
Because under the bright lights of a packed-out Big V home game, they sort of do.
But Bartlett and Frame have a dream: their own venue, complete with everything a hooper could dream of.
“So we thought how could we get started?” Frame said.
“And that’s how Buckets was born.”
The Buckets Centre is Frame and Bartlett’s business, built from their love of the game and ability to connect with young ballers in the community.
Frame said there was a huge amount of young players wanting to get involved with the sport, but not enough courts or facilities to go around.
“We saw there was a huge lack of coaches in the area that are able to give the kids that time, and those that do obviously that’s fantastic, but there are a lot of experienced coaches and players like ourselves that are able to share with the kids what we know,” he said.
“We have people around us who have kids that are under 12s and you could see the parents were asking for a bit more help and individual sessions.
“We didn’t realise there was that much of a demand for it until we saw it first-hand.”
They started the project earlier this year and it’s moved very quickly.
They regularly hold training sessions with younger players, with kids even getting up in the early hours of the morning to get some shots up before school.
“It was just skills, dribbling, shooting drills and then it grew into memberships,” Frame said.
“We started to have our local Buckets Centre community, they would come to our sessions in the morning and Sunday afternoons, and we’ve been tackling it that way term by term.”
Last week, on Wednesday, July 5, they had about 30 young players at Guthrie Street Primary School learning the rules of FIBA three-on-three basketball.
It’s worth noting that the stadium at Guthrie is called the Bartlett Centre, named after Matt’s dad, Bruce, who served the primary school in multiple capacities including cleaner and bus driver for almost 50 years.
On Thursday, July 6, they held the three-on-three tournament with more than 60 kids involved.
“We were just trying to get them comfortable so they didn’t rock up not knowing what to do,” Bartlett said.
“We mentioned to the kids at the start, it’s a legitimate pathway, if five on five is not the way they want to go they can come here and play three-on-three.”
Three-on-three basketball has been growing in popularity following the conclusion of its debut in the Olympics this year.
In three-on-three, the ball stays in play after a make and the attacking team has 12 seconds to get up a shot in each possession.
“They are enjoying it, it’s a lot quicker, the decisions are a lot quicker, very fast-paced,” Bartlett said.
“Bit of new language for some of the kids, they’re learning something new and enjoying it which is really good.
“A lot of players haven’t played it before, so they’re experiencing it for the first time.”
They had tournaments with prizes up for grabs in multiple age groups.
Bartlett expressed that the event served as a valuable learning experience for the children and he and Frame.
He also expressed their satisfaction with the turnout, considering they had only advertised it during the initial week of the holidays.
“Our first crack at it as well, so we’ll make it even better next time,” Bartlett said.
Frame expressed his gratitude for the support received from friends and family, while also acknowledging the assistance of fellow players Sam Beks and Joshua Kooiman, who helped referee and score the tournament.
“We’ve got Beksy here and, obviously, Josh Kooiman who has been phenomenal for us this year, as a coach and as a person,” Frame said.
“A big thank you to everyone who’s been supporting us continuously.
“Myself and Matt, we’ve known each other for close to 15 years, and I don’t even look at him like a best mate any more, he’s more like a brother.
“To be able to do this with him and share our love for the game, how great, the sky’s the limit, that’s the way we’re looking at it.”
Intriguing things are brewing in Greater Shepparton's basketball world and the Buckets Centre is just getting started.
The Gators are hosting an open training session for kids next Thursday at 6.30pm ahead of their last game at Shepparton Sports Stadium before the finals, where Bartlett, Frame and co will look to bring grand final glory to the Swamp.