IT MIGHT be a hugely successful, countywide basketball programme now, but Reach for the Sky had decidedly unglamorous beginnings.

“It was just me, basically, lugging giant bags of basketballs around on the bus, knocking people over whenever I turned round, and trudging about getting soaked in the rain,” grins Graham Hunter, who founded the inspirational initiative for young people.

“I was working out of my mum and dad’s spare room too, as I had just come back from Spain where I’d been playing professional basketball, and had nowhere to live. It was a bit chaotic....”

Reach for the Sky was set up to give kids the chance to learn how to play basketball, but its aims were always much wider.

“I played basketball in America, in Spain and in England and everywhere I went there were amazing community initiatives, getting young kids excited about sport and helping them achieve things,” says Graham.

“And then I’d come home to Blantyre, and watch the people I grew up with moving further in the wrong direction and it made me want to do something for my community, through basketball.”

The result is a basketball training programme run at 10 academies, with summer camps, activities in schools and an elite squad called the Colliers into the bargain.

“It’s grown really quickly which is fantastic,” says Graham. “I wanted to create something that lasted rather than a short, six-week course that was just getting the kids interested when it was over.

“And an important part of Reach for the Sky was to create volunteer opportunities for the older players to encourage them into coaching.”

He smiles: “We’ve had some amazing success stories. Some of our young people have come all the way through Reach for the Sky to play for the Colliers – the senior women just won the cup, and they had five members who came through our programme.

“But it’s not really about winning trophies and being the best basketball player.

“It’s about giving young people confidence to achieve their own dreams, whether those are on the basketball court or not.

“I hear stories about my young coaches who have been demotivated in the past – one suffered badly from depression and felt she was doing nothing and going nowhere. Now she is at university and that’s what makes me proud of what we have achieved.”

Graham got the chance to play basketball on an exchange programme to the US when he was 16.

“It was a real culture shock for a wee, negative Scottish boy,” he grins. “Suddenly I was surrounded by this mass of positive-thinking, cheerful people. They believed in themselves – they were going to be the best, they would be the champions, the next president...it completely changed my attitude to life.”

He adds: “My vision of America was all shiny malls and glamorous houses, but I was in a small place in Oregon, 50 miles from the nearest big town. It took a while to adjust.

“I lived with the assistant coach and his family and he had the keys to the gym. So I’d get up at five o’clock, sneak in for two hours practice then go to school, then play basketball.”

Chosen as captain of the school team, the Ukiah Cougars, and crowned Most Valuable Player in his first season, Graham was selected to represent the state of Oregon in the USA Junior Nationals.

He came back to Scotland to finish high school, spent two years at the National Basketball Academy in Durham, then won a sports scholarship to the University of Maine.

He played professionally in the UK and in Spain and was all set to travel to France and Africa when he met his wife, Lyndsay.

“I decided I wanted to stay with her,” he smiles. “All the time I was travelling I still had this idea for the academies, so it seemed like the right time to set it up.

“It’s hard work, especially now we have two young boys, Mason and Kobe. But I love it.”

He adds: “The kids inspire me – their passion and determination are fantastic to see. That’s what makes it all worthwhile.”

At the Alistair McCoist Complex in East Kilbride, a bunch of kids are having a ball with Graham and his team of coaches.

Caleb Welch, who is seven, has been coming to the club for a few months.

“It’s great for making friends and learning team skills and just having a good time,” says his dad, Richard, from East Kilbride.

“I love it,” beams Caleb.

Claire Brunton,18, part of the Scottish Cup-winning senior team, is delighted more girls are coming into the sport.

“It’s great to see young kids who have never played basketball before develop a passion for something I love,” says Claire, who intends studying microbiology at university.

Calum Alexander, 16, joined Reach for the Sky six years ago and he is now playing for the Colliers and training to be a coach.

“It’s great seeing the younger kids being inspired too and this is definitely what I want to do as a career – if not as a player, than in coaching or development,” he says.

“Coming here has been an escape for me in difficult times and I’ve made lots of friends.

“Reach for the Sky makes you believe in yourself.”