A local boys basketball player is eager to see how his game translates with new teammates in a different country.
Dom Scellato, a Bargersville resident who attends Suburban Christian School in Indianapolis, is part of the United States boys team at the Euro Basketball Cup 2018 in Barcelona, Spain.
Members of the team are selected from a pool of applicants by STUDENTathleteWorld, a North Carolina-based company that offers international tours for qualified student-athletes in nine different sports.
The selection process is based on academics, athletic ability, leadership and character. Scellato is a 5-foot-9 guard who’ll be entering his junior year at Suburban Christian.
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“I’m very excited. It’s going to be a good experience for me getting to see the different cultures and the camaraderie bonding with the team playing basketball,” Scellato said. “It’s getting to travel and meet new people through the sport that you all love.”
Scellato has experience traveling abroad, having been part of week-long mission trips through his church to St. Lucia and Grenada.
For this trip, he’ll be gone from June 18-26.
Another member of the USA team, Jared Franklin, is a recent Suburban Christian graduate who lives just north of the Johnson-Marion county line.
Franklin, whose father, Shawn, and maternal grandparents are Johnson County residents, was intent on being part of a team that played a tournament in Hawaii last summer, but decided to wait a year.
“This will be a first. I enjoy playing basketball, and visiting outside of the U.S. will be fun,” Franklin said. “It will be a little weird, but I’m looking forward to being away and making new friends.”
Tony Scellato, Dom’s father, will also be making the trip, which costs approximately $5,000 per person. He said his son has raised nearly enough money to cover his half through the combination of small fundraisers, a Go Get Funding page and mowing lawns for neighbors and friends.
“I think it’s huge,” Tony Scellato said. “The more someone puts into raising money, it changes the whole perspective of the trip and how they view it and experience it.
“Neither Dom or Jared have traveled alone, so it’s good to be able to help in that regard. Plus, I love watching them play basketball. It’s a chance to represent your country. Your uniform says ‘USA’ on it, so I think that’s a good opportunity.”
On Monday, Franklin will be with Dom and Tony Scellato as they fly from Indianapolis to New York City, where they meet the rest of the boys Euro Cup 18 team.
The base cost of the Euro Cup trip is $4,200 per person, which covers two meals daily, room and board, entry fee for the tournament and the round-trip plane ticket from New York City to Barcelona. It increases to approximately $5,000 when including additional money for food, souvenirs, a passport and round-trip airfare between Indianapolis and New York City.
Franklin raised approximately $3,000 through fundraising and donations from local businesses. Among his methods of raising money were selling candles and candy bars and even helping local businesses with their fundraisers.
For instance, Franklin sold calendars for the Chick-Fil-A in Greenwood.
“The basketball, of course, is going to be fun, with Jared being exposed to all sorts of other kids,” said Lisa Franklin, Jared’s mother. “But it will also be educational as they go to different parts of Spain.”
