Matthew Hodgson’s career has been shaped by opportunity, adaptability and lessons learned through experience. After rising through the AIS and taking his talents to the United States, his professional journey later brought new challenges that tested his mindset in unexpected ways. In this interview, Matthew reflects on a period that helped redefine his relationship with the game and with himself. Now a mentor to young athletes, he shares insights that go far beyond basketball, offering perspective on resilience, confidence and staying grounded through every stage of a sporting career.

How would you describe your pathway from those early playing days, from gaining a spot at the AIS and representing Australia?

I think I was pretty lucky because I was really tall and I could run and jump, so I picked up a lot of opportunities early in my career. I started playing basketball when I was 14 through to about 18 with the AIS. But through to about Year 12, I was seen as a development project, so I wasn’t actually good until I was in Year 12. That’s when I made my first state team. I played well at that tournament and then got chosen for the AIS selection camp. I did well at that, got picked, and just kept going from there. 

Was there a coach or a mentor in those junior playing days that positively shaped your basketball experience?

Yeah, for sure. There are three that I can think of, and they came in sequentially. The first one was my coach at Ipswich Grammar School (IGS) he also coached state league for men for Ipswich. He saw something in me, and he taught me the game, the fundamentals and what to do. He also helped me get a basketball scholarship at Ipswich and I loved it there.

During that time, I got selected for the Queensland Academy of Sport and the coach there was Murry Aldred. He showed me what it took to be an elite athlete, how strong you had to be and what the game demanded; he really opened my eyes to it.

The last one was Shane Frolley, he was my coach for the Queensland Under 19s team. This was after I had started at AIS and before I played for Australia. He was the one who gave me confidence that I could actually be good at the game. After that point, things in my career really started to take off.

Can you tell us about your journey to playing college basketball in America?

That was my end goal when I first started playing basketball then as kept playing, I thought I wanted to make a profession out of it, so I thought it was a no brainer that I’d end up going to college, and that’s what happened. I got recruited at a national tournament and signed at the National Athletic Forum. I went to the AIS before I played for Australia, so I signed early.

It played in Southern Utah, and I was really happy with everything and liked the coaches. I was over there for five years so I spent two years at Southern Utah and then transferred to St. Mary’s in California and I loved it I had the best experience. It was exactly what I had wanted, to get a free education and the chance to play in front of a lot of people. I actually met my wife at Southern Utah, and we’ve been together since 2011. It’s an amazing experience and if anyone has the opportunity, I highly recommend it.

What’s something young athletes might not realise about being a Division One athlete in America?

It’s a business. You have to treat it as such. During the recruiting process, coaches can seem amazing, but once you sign, you realise it’s a business. So, you need to do your own research. I recommend you get your own picture of what the coach is like, so you could message a player that’s currently on the team to ask what the coach is really like. The second thing is you need to make sure you’re going somewhere where you’ll actually have an opportunity to play. If a team’s leading scorer is heading into their junior year, you might not play for two years. The players who do best in college are the ones who play early and develop.  

Since the US, you’ve had a lot of playing experiences across Australia and also in Taiwan. What did you learn about team dynamics with those varied experiences?

I’ve been fortunate to play all over the world. Across every continent, the principles behind winning teams are the same. The teams that buy into collective success instead of individual success are the teams that win.

It’s about sacrificing your ego and accepting your role within the team. You have to take a step back to understand that if some team members are playing more, it doesn’t mean I’m not a good player you just have to work in the background until you get an opportunity and you can really go for it. 

The best teams eliminate outside noise and stay connected. That’s why great teams gel together.

What experience taught you the most in your career?

I think it was the derailment of my professional career so my season in Perth and Taiwan. I’d just had a really good year with Brisbane, and I was moving in a good trajectory but then I went to Perth and got hurt and I wasn’t playing well. Then once I’d started playing well again, we were the first Perth team to miss the playoffs in 35 years. That experience killed my stock as a player, and I didn’t want to admit it to myself, so I went to Taiwan. I was only there for seven weeks because I got hurt again and was cut from the team. Which I was grateful for because I didn’t enjoy playing there, the people and everything was great there I just didn’t like the style of basketball.

When I came back from Taiwan no one wanted me, so I had to go through a full identity reset without basketball for validation. That taught me the most.

How do you approach preparation for pinnacle events?

I like to adopt this slingshot principle. For me, that meant picking two or three areas that I really wanted to focus on and that I knew were most important for me. One of those was always recovery, because if you think about a rubber band, if you pull it back too far, it will snap. Having a focus on keeping your body feeling good all the time helps you not pull that rubber band back too far. The other focuses might be free throws or conditioning, but recovery was always one of the key ones. So, you pull it back through your preparation, and then when you get really close to game day, usually the day before, you just let go. At that point, you have done the preparation. There is nothing more you can do and nothing more you need to do.

Letting go for me meant saying, I’m just going to have fun. I really enjoy this. I can only be myself out there. I’m going to make some mistakes. I might get dunked on. I might dribble the ball off my foot but It doesn’t matter, because I know I’ve done what I needed to do.

The only way I can fully express what I am capable of is if I let go and actually enjoy it. That’s why I always think of it as a slingshot. You pull it back to a certain point, then you just let it go.

What tactics do you use to refocus when you make a mistake and need to bounce back within a game?

I learnt this tactic when I was playing with the Bullets, RBA which stands for Recognise, Breathe and Act. So when you’ve made a mistake first, you recognise it. For example, If I’m in a game and I’m distracted, I’ve got to realise that I’m distracted. We all have triggers that tell us we’re out of our zone. Some people argue with the refs, some get really mad after missing a shot. Whatever it is, once you notice it and think, “Oh, I’m doing that again,” you don’t beat yourself up for it just realise you’re out of the zone.

So then you breathe. That’s a big one. You’ve got to neutralise it. The quickest way to do that while you’re playing is through your breathing. If you’re too amped up, you slow it down with deep breaths. If your energy’s too low, you lift it with short, sharp breaths. It only takes a few seconds.

Then you act. Once you’re neutral, you bring yourself back to something that makes you feel good, which is usually one of your strengths. Everyone has something they do well out there, so you focus on that. Once you do, everything else in the game usually starts to flow again.

What insights do you always come back to when working with young athletes?

The first is that you play your best when you’re having fun, and you have fun when you’re being yourself. When I say fun, people sometimes think that means laughing and joking all the time, but that’s not what I mean. Some players trash talk, some scowl as long as you’re not doing anything reckless, being yourself is the key. When you’re yourself, you enjoy it more, and you play better.

The next part is playing to your strengths, but also choosing one weakness that will make the biggest difference. For example, I was really good around the rim, but for most of my pro career, I struggled with free throws. So, you’ve got to pick a weakness that’s in your wheelhouse and would change your game the most. And then for those who want to go pro, devote just ten minutes every single day to skill work. You don’t have to increase the volume, just the complexity. If you’re a shooter, it might be making five three-pointers every day. If you don’t have a hoop, you practise in your head or work on form. If you’re on holiday, you take your ball and find a hoop. Once that skill becomes easy, you add difficulty. Over time, that daily ten minutes compounds massively. By the time performance really matters at 17 or 18, your skill level will be incredible. 

What are the top three things’ parents should know when supporting their child in sport?

The first is to get them playing different sports. It doesn’t have to be organised sport. I know registration is expensive and parents are driving all over the place. But even backyard games with friends, cricket, football, tag, anything that gets them moving in different ways to build general athleticism. That helps them run faster, jump higher, move better, and it also helps prevent injuries later on. If kids only repeat the same movement patterns for years, the body wears down.

The second is that it’s meant to be fun, and the results truly don’t matter. The third is to foster confidence. Not ego, but the ability to have a go.

A lot of people hold themselves back because they’re scared to try. If a kid airballs a three-pointer and the parent says, “I don’t care, I’m just proud you tried,” the kid learns that mistakes aren’t fatal. 

Having a go becomes a habit, and that carries into everything in life.

Love Basketball? Here’s some other interviews you may like: Mitchell Creek on Stacking the days and Marianna Tolo on Body Image and playing with the best in the game

Learning how to refocus when you hit hurdles? Here are some other tips on how to refocus when you don’t make the cut and Maisie Nankivell also shares her insights on this topic from her journey in sport