MELTON’S basketball reputation, at home court and away, has gone
to another level this season to match the team’s on-court success.
While winning can lift the spirits of any club, the seeds for
success in the stands were sown in the club’s early home games, as
Melton rode a four-game losing streak at the start of the season.
The fans were still coming, with initiatives such as the Maroon
Zone for youngsters and the club’s adoption of social media leading to
the town’s basketball community living the “#bredlife”.
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“We’re putting a lot more resources into our junior ranks as well,
which is turning into spectators for Big V,” Melton Basketball
Association president Lucas Bourke said.
“We’re looking to grow as a club to compete with the likes of Keilor or Sunbury.
“We’re considered much smaller but we’re putting in the work.
“A year ago the Big V players were unknown to the
juniors and vice-versa. Now a lot of these juniors know the players by
name. We’ve become a club that’s integrated the programs.”
Recruiting former Melton juniors or Melton-based players has been a
big focus in the past two seasons, with Melton making the finals last
year and going on to win the title this year.
“A lot of former Melton juniors have come back into the senior program after being away for some time,” Bourke said.
“We have a lot of confidence about going into (Big V) division 1 because we’ve done well with the recruiting recently.”
Bourke said volunteers had to be acknowledged for their role in the club’s success.
“We have a lot more volunteers and a lot more help off the court, and that has helped the level of play on the court,” he said.
“Everything that’s happening off the court is being reflected on the court.
“The passion of the volunteer base . . . we’d be lost without them.
“At the start of the season I was setting up, cleaning the floors before games.
“Now we have a pool of people who have come in to contribute and build the (volunteer) culture at the club.”
