(Carl with his son, Jet)

Odyssey Interviewer Shayne: Alright. Starting off, how about you introduce yourself, and tell us what you do.

MBA Owner Carl Doucet: Carl Doucet, 43 years old, Own the Manchester Baller's Association which is something that was basically a dream job. Came up with the concept about 15 years ago, was running outdoor leagues at Wolf park, working full-time jobs.

How MBA came to be, I was coaching at West High School, I was a JV coach and I invited a bunch of people for basketball, having access to the gym as an Employee of the school. Well, the AD mad and I got a ton of phone calls about it like I had done the worst thing possible and it really tilted me, to be honest.

There were no leagues for men in Manchester at the time and I used the anger to fuel me. Within a couple of months, MBA had its first game--1 employee and a score keeper. We had 37 players.

S: How many leagues do you have going now?

C: I believe we have nine and we run seven days a week. The new one coming out is a 40+ league, a Master's League, we have a Sunday Raptor's League which is 30+, we have a Sunday Open League, we have a Monday night League, we have a REC league- which is for people who are not high skilled, and I make sure to look at the rosters and to make sure if you play in the REC league, you belong in that league.

We have a 'B' League, which is middle of the road, we have a Thursday Outlaw league, which is a concept where each team is checked to make sure the roster is neither too weak nor too talented. We have a weeknight Open league, which is higher skilled, a lot of former college players. And then we have the Friday draft league.

I like the networking aspect of MBA and meeting new people. It's one of the reasons I made the draft, so people have to play with other people. A lot of them want to play with just their friends, and this makes them expand their vision and play with people they wouldn't normally play with. It's a good way to make friends.

S: Or rivalries. That can be a lot of fun too.

C: Oh yeah, there are some rivalries. We have some guys--best friends in life but when they get on the court, they can't stand each other. And that's okay too.

S: I know that you had contemplated, or had a Women's League going, is that still...?

C: We did. The thing with the Women's League is we started it with four teams. I thought I connected and networked and got enough but we had a session that didn't even finish because people didn't want to show up and play. I would state publicly that women do not have the same passion as men to play basketball. Not all of them, but there has to be enough that want to play.

That being said, women are more than welcome to play in any league in MBA. They're even welcome to bring a women's team in the REC league.

If you're going to diversify any product in our league you have to have enough people that are gonna sustain it and grow. So this over 40 that I'm trying to do, if it shows it can't keep four to six teams on a regular basis per session, it's like anything else. It's not a bias towards anyone. It's a business.

S: On the opposite side, I see you do a lot of work with kids. Can you tell me about some of those experiences?

C: Well we ran Youth League from the end of March til the beginning of June--a big part of MBA is trying to make a difference in the community. That will be back again in march and we had about 125 kids in that. Which was pretty neat, that's always on Saturdays. MBA has to try and make a difference with people. Otherwise, it fails. In my mind, it fails. If we stop caring, then it's just a failure.

S: How big do you hope that MBA can be?

C: I have real long term goals, and I have short three to five years-I hit my five-year goal and my next short term goal is 100 teams we're probably around 85. I'd like to double that. We're Manchester "Ballers" and what's interesting about that--most people think it's 'basketball' and there's a method to every madness. When I came up with the term, the idea is that one day MBA would be more than one sport. And to stay involved is important for me too.

I need to be there when I can and ref a bunch of games and throw myself in the fire because if I don't there can come a time where I can;t relate to my employees or the players to know what's happening. If someone's unhappy I need to be able to understand how they're feeling and why they're feeling that way.

S: How do you keep a balance between running a business and caring about everyone that comes through your door?

C: I think you have to care about people in life. I just want to make a difference for people. If people want to get to know me through MBA that's up to them. When it comes to the professional aspect, I'll stand my ground. If it's a threat to the business or something is going down, I'll step in respectfully and let them know what's up, but I'm not going to push my weight around so to say.

It's important for me to know everyone who comes through my door--I know about 90 percent of the people and I want them to know that if they have an issue, you can call me literally at midnight, and I'll talk to you.

S: I know you share your passion of basketball with your family. How important is it to you that you can share something you love with the people you love?

C: I'm very lucky. My wife will even score games for me. She likes basketball but she doesn't love it. She's very supportive of everything. She's a great woman and I'm very lucky. I'm just lucky.

S: If you had to pick a favorite league, either to ref or watch, what would it be?

C: Probably different answers because watching and reffing are two different things. When you're reffing, you get into a mode. It's the one time I can't converse with players and worry about being likable. I'm looking for players that can act sportsmanlike and keep the game in check. I like REC, because the attitudes are the best and the people keep the perspective that its only a game. The understand what MBA is supposed to be.

Obviously, if I'm watching I like watching our most competitive league, which is the Weeknight Open.

S: This next one is a fun question. Lebron James comes to town, wants to meet one of your guys, shoot around. Who do you pick? One of your best guys, or someone who maybe isn't the best, but more humble, understands the game and MBA more?

C: It absolutely would not be based on skill because that means nothing to me. I would have to pick a player based on sportsmanship, and time spent volunteering for MBA. I would still take someone above average to represent our league, but it wouldn't be based solely on that. JL sticks out to me.

He's an MBA employee and he's one of my best friends and me and him go way back. And what I like about him is that he's the in between. He's the employee that's been a player for MBA since day 1.

From day one he's never missed a session six years running. He's that in between guy who always lets me know where the players are going and how they feel. But at the same time, he's on team MBA and can communicate with the other employees and bridge that gap.

S: Open letter to MBA players- What do you want to say to them as a whole?

C: I would ask people to try and always remember the purpose of MBA--to have fun and to challenge yourself to become a better player and a better person. I want all the players to know that they can always come to me and I always say that: "Our league is not perfect, but we care." I absolutely appreciate everyone that chooses MBA, it means a lot to me.

S: Lastly, open letter to anybody who is not in MBA, maybe someone on the outside looking in, or to someone who asks: What makes it so different? What do you say to everybody else?

C: Well MBA has always grown. It's been here for six and a half years and keeps growing. People told me that there would be a point where that would stop and that's not the case. MBA is a different league. We value the player, we value that you're choosing to partake in our activities and our league.

We're not a perfect league but we are a personable league. And you're going to be challenged. I'll do my best as the owner to get you in the right league that fits your schedule and your skill. I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with it.