United Grassroots Stories - Yarrambat Basketball Club

At Melbourne United, nothing is more exciting than seeing the next generation take to the sport we are so passionate about.

It is why The Grassroots Game, which is set to take place this Sunday against the Cairns Taipans at John Cain Arena, is such a special event on our calendar.

Seeing thousands of young hoopers stream into our gameday in their junior uniforms and cheer loudly for our team on the floor.

One junior club that always gets involved in The Grassroots Game is the Yarrambat Phantoms, who have seen their numbers more than double over the past three years.

Club president Michael McMahon said the growth has been amazing to see.

“Pre-Covid we sat around 350 players, now that number has jumped to around 800 now,” he said.

“We’ve doubled the size of our club over the last three years, which can also be said for the league at large. It’s just been a massive growth period for the spot in the area.

“I’ve been involved in basketball for 35 years at all levels and seeing the growth year on year has been so exciting. It shows that the sport isn’t slowing down.”

The Phantoms have partnered with Melbourne United as Grassroots Members, which has opened up opportunities for stars to come through and work with Yarambat’s young players.

“For us, there’s been a number of things that have helped drive that growth, including our relationship with Melbourne United as a Grassroots member. Having the guys come out to the club and do things with our players is so exciting for the kids. It shows them that they can achieve their dreams in the sport if they work hard enough.

“Hearing their stories has been special, listening to guys like Chris Goulding, Shea Ili and Matthew Dellavedova talk about what they had to do to reach the heights they got to is eye opening for a lot of young people, but it inspires them to work harder and grow their love of the sport.”

The Grassroots Game will return this Sunday from 4:30pm at John Cain Arena when we face the Cairns Taipans.

Tickets remain available here.