Enumclaw sharp-shooter finds success down under

Published 11:55 am Saturday, November 21, 2009

Frank Stratton considers himself an average basketball player.

The Enumclaw resident has about 30 years of playing experience – high school, college, Air Force – plus the three times a week he still plays with the Boeing “guys” since his retirement as a personnel manager there in 2000. Plus, there were the years he watched his son Cameron play for the Hornets.

But Stratton pushed his game to a higher level at the World Masters Games in Sydney, Australia, when he ran the floor with 65-year-old and older former Olympians from across the world Oct. 10-18.

“It was a dream come true for me,” Stratton said. “It was so exciting. Here you are; in my prime I wouldn’t be able to touch them, let alone play with them, but I’m lucky to have stayed healthy and I was able to run the floor with them. It felt really good.”

Those former Olympians were also Stratton’s age. It’s how the World Master Games are set up.

The World Masters Games have taken place every four years since they began in Toronto, Canada, in 1985. The World Masters Games are the world’s largest multisport event, attracting twice as many competitors as the Olympic Games. A significant, fundamental difference between the World Masters Games and the Olympic Games is that World Masters Games are open to people of all abilities rather than just elite athletes, with the emphasis on participation. To compete at the Sydney 2009 World Masters Games, people only need to satisfy their sport’s minimum age, which ranges from 25 to 35, depending on the sport.

It was like being in the Olympics, Stratton said. The opening ceremonies took place at Sydney’s Olympic Stadium with close to 100 countries represented by more than 25,000 athletes in 28 sports at more than 70 venues throughout the city.

Stratton, who played for the Australian men’s 65-and-older Myths and Legends team, helped lead the team to a bronze medal, one game shy of the gold. The 5-foot-11 guard/forward, sporting the red, white and blue jersey of the land down under and the No. 13, started seven games and averaged eight to 10 points per game, including one contest where he had a game-high 16 after banging down four 3-pointers in a row against the zone.

“There were some pretty good players there,” he said. “We had another guard that was awfully good.

“I was an average basketball player,” Stratton said. “To get the opportunity to play at that level really gets your adrenaline flowing.”

Stratton’s path to the Australian team came through his Boeing connections. A weekly teammate suggested the World Masters Games and it piqued Stratton’s interest. Unfortunately, he couldn’t find a team in the United States for his age division. There were several United States teams available, but they were for the younger 35- to 50-year-old set.

A travel agent with more than flight connections hooked him up with Australia’s Myths and Legends organization. To make a long story short, he found a spot with the Australian team.

Until the first game, he’d never seen or played with his teammates, wasn’t accustomed to their accent, hadn’t really hit the hardwood with a running clock and had to quickly brush up on the international rules of the game.

“The Australians all knew each other and I had to fit in on a team I never played on before. I didn’t want to embarass myself and I didn’t. It was fine. We had a ball,” Stratton said.

“It was a fun, fun time. The people in Australia are such cordial people. I made friends and now I know people from all over.”

Stratton thanks his lucky stars he’s been healthy and injury-free. Staying busy helps, he said.

When Stratton isn’t hitting the hoops, he’s running and lifting weights to stay in shape. He also spends time competing with his cutting horse Cody, fly fishing in Montana, hunting with his dog Sonny and working for John L. Scott-Lake Tapps Realty.

“You’re as competitive as you feel,” he said. “I hardly miss a day.

“People often say they’re surprised we’re still playing,” he said of himself and his peers. “Why should we stop?”

He’s not stopping.

The experience has inspired Stratton to compete in the 2013 World Master Games in Italy, a trip his wife Nancy, a retired Westwood Elementary School teacher, said she will join him on.