Smiles in the South East after Sixers visit

There were basketballs bouncing and children smiling right across Mount Gambier this week as the Adelaide 36ers visited the South East city.

In town for the pre-season game against an NBL1 South Select side on Thursday night, the 36ers flew down a day early to spend some time in the community.

With a strong connection to Mount Gambier, Sixers players were spread between four schools and an after school community clinic where they had a lot of fun with local students and shared important messages about healthy lifestyles, leadership and resilience.

It was a homecoming of sorts for Sixers recruit Michael Harris who was born and raised in Mount Gambier and went back and played NBL1 for the Mount Gambier Pioneers as an adult.

Harris visited his old school Tenison Woods College and spoke of his journey into the national league.

Zylan Cheatham, Flynn Cameron, Matt Kenyon and Magok Manyang were the kings of the kids at the community clinic at the Wulanda Recreation Centre with 60 children in attendance, and assistant coaches Kerry Williams and Luke Cann ran a coaching workshop for local coaches.

“While our time was limited, for communities in the South East who rarely have access to elite sporting icons and role models, we hope our visit was deeply meaningful,” said Adelaide 36ers Community Programs and Partnerships Lead Mitch Noye who organised and led the Mount Gambier visit.

“You just had to see how much fun the students had and the smiles on show during our school visits and clinics.

“These moments foster connection, aspiration, and long-term community pride, and they reinforce our commitment to inclusive, grassroots engagement.”

As well as engaging with the community and helping grow the game of basketball, the 36ers used the visit to help develop the next generation of talented players.

DJ Vasiljevic helped run a training session for the Limestone Coast Academy of Sport and participants were also given a rare insight into team training with an exclusive visit to the team shootaround on Thursday morning. Academy students were then invited along to the game against the NBL1 South Select Side.

Academy coach Kurt Russell said having the 36ers in the region, including home grown talent like Harris, had a big impact on local kids.

“It just gives these kids an aspiration, knowing there’s a pathway through the NBL1 to the NBL, so to have these guys come in that they see on tv all the time, being face-to-face giving them high-fives, it really has a huge impact for our area,” Mr Russell said.

“I'm always talking with the academy kids about the dedication and doing the work nobody sees and just aspiring to be the best player and person you can be.

“But, to have a different voice from my DJ (Vasiljevic) and (36ers School High Performance Manager) Corey (Maclean) to come down and then put them through some different drills and you obviously linking it to the Sixers, it gives them a bit of juice inside, extra hope and desire to hopefully follow those footsteps.”

The visit also allowed the 36ers the opportunity to activate at the TAFE SA Campus Alive event in the city.

The visit to Mount Gambier and community activations would not have been possible without the support of Active Communities Limestone Coast, The City of Mount Gambier, and the Limestone Coast Academy of Sport.

The 36ers are also grateful to the Mount Gambier Pioneers for hosting Thursday night’s game.

To find out more about the club’s not-for-profit community arm the Shooting Hoops Foundation or its community programs, contact community@adelaide36ers.com.