{"id":27791,"date":"2022-02-18T13:59:32","date_gmt":"2022-02-18T03:59:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/basketball\/?p=27791"},"modified":"2022-02-18T14:01:59","modified_gmt":"2022-02-18T04:01:59","slug":"from-dominating-juniors-to-wnbl-pizzey-believes-theres-more-to-come","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/central.rookieme.com\/basketball\/from-dominating-juniors-to-wnbl-pizzey-believes-theres-more-to-come\/","title":{"rendered":"From dominating juniors to WNBL, Pizzey believes there\u2019s more to come"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

FROM dominating the Victoria and Australia juniors in the pathways, to winning a championship and being a bright star in the NBL1 competition, Rebecca Pizzey<\/a> believes she has got more to offer in the WNBL in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pizzey opened up firstly what got her into playing basketball, reflecting on her journey and challenges faced along the way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI actually started with netball, because my mum was a netballer but my brother wanted to start playing basketball and obviously I didn\u2019t want to be left out so I said ‘Mum, I want to play basketball as well please’,” Pizzey said. “I always liked ball sports when I was tall as a kid. It worked out pretty well. I\u2019ve had a lot of fun doing it and that\u2019s the main thing”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI still feel like I\u2019m relatively young and we\u2019ll see where I get to and what happens, but I\u2019m pretty proud of everything that I\u2019ve achieved so far. It definitely hasn\u2019t been easy and there\u2019s been lots of highs and lows but I think I\u2019ve been positive throughout the whole experiences. It\u2019s always kind of seeing the best of the bright side, it is a big thing and I\u2019m pretty proud”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve had a few challenges along my way, a couple of injuries and a couple of teams. The main one that sticks out to me was the under 16 state team. I was top age and I didn\u2019t make the team and I was really disappointed with that. So, then the next team was under 18\u2019s and I was bottom age and I made that team for Victoria Metro”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe won the gold medal (at the Under-17 World Championships) and I had my shoulder surgery booked two days after we got home, but to pull through that tournament was something really, really special”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Vic Metro\/Australia experience, Vic basketball pathway, and the road to WNBL<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

After succeeding representing Victoria Metro and Australia, Pizzey shares her experiences representing Victoria and Australia, the strong pathways within Victoria and Pizzey\u2019s journey coming into the WNBL competition.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI loved playing for Victoria. It\u2019s not something that I took lightly at all. I also missed out on one of the tournaments because I had my shoulder injury, but I loved the family vibes that had about it. There was a few girls I played with and we all had each other\u2019s back and we were really good friends, it\u2019s like a sisterhood kind of thing. That meant a lot to me. To then get the wins and a couple of national championships was a very rewarding thing for all the hard work we put in”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI always watched the WNBL competition when I was younger, but I never really took basketball too seriously. Up until when I took part in the under 16 team, which is when I learnt to take it a little more seriously and work if it\u2019s something you really want to do”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“I love to play for fun and it doesn\u2019t really worry me whether I score or not. I like to play hard and do the little things. It puts everybody in a better mood, which puts me in a better mood. That\u2019s one of the things you learn. I personally would rather my teammates to be successful”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt comes back to you. I think that\u2019s what I\u2019ve learnt, to play very selflessly. If you have a few people that play like that on your team, it\u2019s very hard to stop. The pathways are incredible and it\u2019s good to see lots of young people get opportunities and having the hub last year, where we could take more players up to Queensland was really good because we could get more exposure to people and play a lot more consistently and get more people to watch it. The pathways are only going to get stronger and there\u2019s lots of girls going over to college at the moment that will come back and flourish in the WNBL. It\u2019s very exciting times for basketball”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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How the WNBL competition has helped Pizzey\u2019s game, development of WNBL, reflection of season with the Flames and being coached by Shane Heal and Shelley Gorman<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pizzey shares how the WNBL has helped about her game, her opinion of the WNBL competition, season playing with the Flames, the opportunity to be coached by Shane Heal and Shelley Gorman and staying motivated as a team.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI think Jenna (O’Hea) is one of the main people that I\u2019ve tried to take things from her game that I really like. I try and take something from everybody\u2019s game and that\u2019s come across, whether that\u2019s a guard or a big (centre). I kind of take a few things from people and try and implement them to myself. I think it\u2019s a good way to go about not only basketball but life aswell\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“People come out and watch the games because there\u2019s so many amazing female role models that everybody can look up to and be inspired by. I love the double-headers, I think it\u2019s a great idea. It\u2019s really good to have the men\u2019s team (such as the Sydney Kings) and have a partnership”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“In terms of playing in the NBL1 in the 2022 season, I\u2019ve signed with a team, not sure if I\u2019m allowed to say, but I\u2019ve signed with a team down in Melbourne, which is very exciting to head home and head back there and that will be good”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe (Flames) go into each game, knowing we have a chance to knock off anyone really, we know that we have a chance to take them down and get the win. We always believe in ourselves and as long as we go out there, play really hard and play our style of game, we will eventually come out and get the win and hold our head high.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cShane and Shelley both have a wealth of knowledge. The fact that they are both ex-players helps us massively. They both bring such different things to the table. I\u2019ve really enjoyed their coaching this season.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe season\u2019s halfway done, which is kind of scary. I just want to end on a good note, get on a roll and get some wins. I\u2019m not sure if we can, but we definitely would like to make finals. If not, I\u2019d like to mess about with a few of the top teams, that would be ideal. Certainly we’d like to get on a roll with the girls and play a fun style of basketball where we can play for each other, set good screens, get rebounds and play my role. That\u2019s one of the things I would like to do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the group of girls. We have such a great group, everybody\u2019s there for each other and we\u2019ve all been through the highs and the lows this season and there\u2019s been lots of things happening. I love playing with the group of girls that we\u2019ve got, we have each other\u2019s backs. I think that\u2019s an important thing when building team culture”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Balance outside of football, pre-game rituals, favourite place to play, coping during tough times and playing in a team environment.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pizzey shares her balance off the court, what she enjoys doing in her time, pre-game rituals and favourite places to play games at.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cAt the moment, I\u2019m not studying as I\u2019ve had to defer for six months to come up to Sydney. I\u2019m currently studying physiotherapy at La Trobe University. I\u2019ve got my placements coming up when I get home, which is quite exciting. I have a couple of placements and I\u2019m really excited to do those. Last year was very full on for me, in regards to uni. There was some days I would leave home at six in the morning and not get home till eight at night and had to do that, pretty much the whole week, which was a lot, not getting home till 10, after an eight o\u2019clock training. It get a lot but it\u2019s really cool to learn all this stuff and it kind of relates to basketball.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t really have any superstitions or anything like that. Coffee is definitely needed before a game, especially if it\u2019s a late game. If it\u2019s a 7pm game, I do try and have a little nap or something, because I go to bed quite early. But other than that, there\u2019s nothing that I necessarily have to do. If I do too much, I\u2019m just going to overthink about the game.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Coping strategies after a tough game, best part being in a tough environment and toughest opponents to play against<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pizzey shares her strategies and what she does if she\u2019s having a tough game, best part being in a team environment and tough opponents she\u2019s faced.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn terms of strategies, during the game, I take a breath and remind myself to focus on the next play. If I\u2019m at home or had a bad training or game or something like that, I like to remove myself from the basketball situation and try to find something else that I like doing or immerse myself.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI probably could not play an individual sport. All the Victorian and Australian junior teams I was on, as much as I remember the result, I remember the people I was there with and made connections that last lifetimes. That\u2019s probably one of my favourite things about playing a team sport is having friends all over Australia and friends for life.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIn my current team, I dislike playing against Kalani Purcell. She does everything and makes high IQ plays. I\u2019ll be like I think she does not get enough credit for what she does. Jenna and Kalani are similar players, so I like that about them. They both have had heaps of international exposure which is obviously helped their game and they bring that back here and it\u2019s really good to learn from them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Meaning of the sport of basketball and role models<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Pizzey shares what the sport of basketball means to her and role models she looks up to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBasketball means a lot to me, considering it\u2019s now my career. If you asked when I was growing up, it would be playing for a bit of fun, but now, I definitely play for fun, in a more serious element to it. There\u2019s that desire to do really well and kind of show everybody what we\u2019ve got.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI don\u2019t have one person that I look up to because I like to take something from everybody that I meet. I feel like everybody you meet is in your life for a reason that can teach you a lesson and I like to take the good things from different people. Obviously, Jenna is one of my role models, she\u2019s got lots for me. I don\u2019t think I have a specific person but I like to take the little things from everybody that I come across.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Lastly, Pizzey shares her best piece of advice for any upcoming basketballers wanting to improve their game.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDon\u2019t worry about scoring. Don\u2019t base a good game off whether you score or not, base the game off whether you gave 100% and did the little things for the team.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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