Auburn, ME - My name is Matt Attard, born and raised in Melbourne, Australia. I have a huge family behind me back home in Australia who support me every single day but I also found a family at CM that has connected me all over the world.
My journey started when I was around 5 or 6, I picked up a basketball because my cousin Stacey was an unbelievable player, still to this day I remember watching her play and thinking she was just the best. My family was involved in the sport as my parents both played and my sister as well, once I got a taste of it I instantly knew I loved it, however I didn't know how much it would really impact my life. I started playing at the representative level at around 12 years old. My parents were not happy with the idea at first as I was already playing Australian Football and local basketball so the extra travel schedule was a lot. After years of asking, I finally tried out when I was 11 and I didn't make the team. So I quickly learnt that hard work was the only answer. The next year I tried out and made the team.
When I was 14 I was invited to be a part of the Australian basketball Academy known as AUBD ran by en ex-NBA player Sedale Threatt and his son. This is where my eyes really opened up. Their idea was to prepare us the best they could for college basketball in the United States. They would have us workout in the morning before school at 6am and for the most part it wasn't something you could just role out of bed for. They would make sure we were awake from the moment we stepped on the court. Through the academy, I was introduced to Neal Wen, a strength and conditioning coach and in my opinion the best in the business. He did everything he could to get my body right and shape it in a way that would allow me to play the best version of my game, all the way up until the time I left for college. I grew a strong relationship with Neal and all the coaches at the academy that is of a very unique sort.
During this time my parents were special. They were both running their own business' while still managing to get me to practices and workouts, there was a lot of days where my Mum would drive me to practice leaving at 5am and making sure I'm at school on time and then to my lifting with Neal after school and then team practice all to make sure I don't have to catch a train on a consistent basis and I can still get all my workouts in while staying in school. Dad would also be working extremely long hours but would do everything he can to ensure I'm still getting what I need done and neither of them ever missed a game. The relationship I built with my parents during this time was really strong as I was so appreciative of what they were sacrificing for me and even more now. I look back and still can't believe the schedule we all dealt with.
I continued to play for the Sunbury Jets until I was around 15 where I got my first taste of the US. The academy took a group of us to Florida to play in some tournaments. This made me realize that playing in America may be a possibility for me one day. I became super close with some older guys in the group (Corey Nobilo and Jacob Formosa) who did a great job taking me under their wing and really help me get through it all as they both did very well for themselves in the basketball world. Coming close with these guys influenced me to a decision where I moved to play for the Altona Gators and started playing along side them in the BigV while still playing juniors, which also added to the crazy travel schedule that my parents never blinked an eye at. By this time I'm around 17 years old and in my last year of high school, so my eyes were set on moving to the US the next year for college but I had to sit out for the rest of the season as I had tore my patellar tendon and had sever patellar tendonitis so my aim was to focus on rehabbing my knees.
Once I was back to playing I moved to play under NBL great Damon Lowry at the Whittlesea Pacers, another person who helped me see a lot of things about my own game and humble me. Around this time I had started making contacts with college coaches and was looking to find the best fit for me, I played one last AAU tournament in the US with AUSA Hoops in July 2017. I visited Central Maine in December 2017 and officially committed in March 2018.
When I was on my visit I met a lot of players who were soon to be my teammates. Every single player embraced me with an open arm, family type approach which honestly blew me away. I stayed with Aussie Cam Duncan who helped me a lot through the recruiting process and my freshman year, he introduced me to all the guys and I became extremely close with Aussies Freddy and Kenny and their other room mate Josh. I was then invited to Darwin, Australia in July 2018 to run camps with CM and workout with my future teammates. This was a great opportunity to grow closer with my future room mates, that bond grew stronger everyday even up until this day. Kenny, Josh and Freddy became and will remain some of the closest people to me for life.
Going into my Freshman year I knew there was a lot of returning guys, there was a only a few freshman on the team. It was a tough adjustment at first especially as everyone had already been there for a year. Luckily for me Coach Gonyea was great at communicating what I had to do and he believed that I could get there. I continued to work hard and by the end of the year I earned myself a solid role within the team. We had a lot of talent on the team however at times it was hard to find the balance between playing together or relying on talent alone. The season ended in one of the most heartbreaking ways I've experienced. NHTI hit a wild buzzer beater to win the game and send us home right before the conference finals.
Sophomore year I came in with a mindset that was strictly to win and lead the team by example the best I could, knowing that doing this would help the team be successful. I was named co-captain with Corey David and Malik Farley and our team was stacked. We had everything we needed to be successful and a bunch of international guys which made the team bond even stronger. The season started how we imagined and after getting over some early struggles I was finding my way, we became number 1 in our conference after a huge cross town rival win going into christmas break against SMCC in probably one of my favorite games I've ever played. Unfortunately in second semester we were hit with a bunch of injuries causing our dynamic to change leading to an early exit in the playoffs against a tough team in NHTI (again) who went on to win nationals.
Once the season came to an end my focus turned more on where I would go for my next two years. I had already visited some schools and had many phone conversations with coaches, however the one that stuck out to me the most was Coach Ryan Marks from the University of St. Francis. He is an extremely experienced coach who has done it at all levels and I could sense his genuine interest in me as a player and as a person. To make my decision that bit easier my roommate from my freshman year and one of my closest friends Josh Chery had transferred there the previous year so after visiting I loved it and knew it would be the best fit on and off the court. Once I signed and was ready to go COVID hit. Causing me to have one of the most interesting summers of my life. I stayed at CM with room mate Nicolas Dierynck from Belgium who happened to be one of my closest friends throughout the year and the guy I worked out with everyday. We were both transferring schools and were afraid we wouldn't be allowed back in the country for the Fall. So we stayed and worked on campus and once restrictions eased spent most of our time working out and getting ready for our new destinations. Nic is probably the hardest working guy I have ever met so for us to spend a summer together I think it allowed us to both bring the best out of each other in our workouts. Once August rolled around I was able to move out to the Chicago area and start my journey at the University of St Francis.
My time at CM was filled with great memories and even more important some of the best relationships I will ever have. I have never had a bond with a Coach like the one I do in Dave Gonyea. He really cares for his players and teaches more then just the game of basketball. The experiences I have had with him and the lessons he has taught will keep me close with him forever. With my teammates I have found brothers that I have learnt from each and every one of them in different ways. Most importantly is my family, this whole journey would never of started without my family and the support I have had from them through it all. Being away from them has the ups and downs but overall it has definitely made the relationships stronger across the board and the true character of people shows in times of inconvenience, however me leaving has not changed any of these dynamics. For this reason I owe it to them to wake up and work hard every single day.
