Saturday, 7 December 2024
I have felt really busy lately and the journal has definitely taken the back burner. Right now I am laying in my hotel bed here in Sydney kind of trying to kill time though…
Game days are strange in the sense that there is always this huge gap of time between shoot-around and getting ready for the game. That time is really quite funky for me to find the perfect thing to do in.
It’s especially difficult for me because I would consider myself a go-getter; I hate wasting time and so although resting, body and mind, is important and necessary on game day, it is not something I find easy to do.
Typically with any spare time on my hands I would be working on Pro Ball Buddy tasks, but a lot of that takes a decent amount of brain power that I also very easily get hooked onto and allow time to pass by without considering any other needs (such as eating even haha, I’m not joking!). I just call it my ADHD hyperfocus super power!
So there really is a massive pull for me to avoid Pro Ball Buddy tasks bc otherwise I will not feel focused and ready for the game… even though I literally have 3 and a half hours before I even need to start getting ready for the game as I type this!
Thanks for helping me pass a little bit of the time anyway. I do think walking to the nearby IGA to grab snacks, stopping somewhere for lunch, brushing up on some film and maybe a brief nap before my pre-game shower will actually eat up all that time quite nicely!
Catchya’s on the flip side! 🙂
Sunday, 17 November 2024
It is currently 9:02pm and I am defs ready for sleep- the travel to Adelaide, back to Perth, then Canberra, back to Perth has definitely paid its toll with a bit of jet lag!
Am I the only one who wants coffee constantly? Hahaha… even before bed sounds like a good idea right now, but maybe that’s because I think I just love the taste now too. (Don’t worry I won’t!;)
Anyway, it was a very nice full weekend off and I spent my Saturday at the Joondalup library from 10-4pm working on the blog and my next freebie- the basketball finishing series. The library closed at 4, so that was a great way to force myself to stop working and have an actual weekend. The short walk home was a great way to switch my mind off too because tbh, I often have a really hard time with that and find myself working till 8/9pm at night often times; frustrated when I finally snap out of my work flow state of mind 🤦♀️
I will say, I truly love the airplane rides to the eastern states because that’s where I get into the best work flow too- no other option really! Maybe the away trips are the best thing for the blog! 😃
Sunday, 10 November 2024
Whatever you do, don’t ever ever ever give up…
Having just been in Adelaide has me reminiscing back to where it all began – my professional basketball career that is. What an absolutely special weekend!! I hadn’t been back to Adelaide since we left 3 years ago and getting to see so many of our incredible Adelaidian community that showed up to the game was unreal!
It’s hard not to get nostalgic at a time like this, but truly God is so good and so faithful – looking back to at how far David and I have come is a really fun memory lane to wonder down.
Before the game, I got to catch-up a bit with the Byham family who hosted us during our very first few weeks in Australia back in 2019. We are so grateful for all they did for us and how well they got us up and running on our own two feet, so to speak, in the foreign Land Down Under!
In that first week of being in Adelaide, the Byham’s took us to a WNBL Adelaide Lightning game and I remember sitting next to David and telling him – “I can play at that level!”
Well, it hasn’t been the easiest road to get there – I will tell you that!
Have you ever felt discouraged along your basketball journey?
After I graduated college, it actually took 6 months of waiting before I received a contract to play overseas- believing I was good enough, but not knowing if any teams would take notice.
Multiple opportunities popped up, only to fall through last second. It was 6 months of yes turned to no.
And despite the discouragement that occasionally snuck in, I chose to stay ready and workout with the incredible David Morrell – my hubby – right by my side.
We would wake up at the crack of dawn every morning to make sure he had time to put me through a workout at the local high school before the kids arrived!
I distinctly remember after one particular session feeling extremely discouraged – I burst into tears sitting there on the sideline, “What if all this hard work is for nothing?”
But we never gave up. And half a year later, just as we were losing hope because the European season was halfway through, the day finally came and we heard from a state level Australian team in Adelaide!
Tbh, as grateful as I was, that first “pro” contract ended up being $0 per game, and ‘a job from a sponsor’ who didn’t actually end up hiring me for a whole 3 months!
But God is faithful y’all!
That season, I went on to win League MVP in my rookie year. (I still remember mindlessly buttering my bread when they announced the winner – David tapped my leg and said, “Teige, that’s you!”😂)
How did I go from a player who was fighting for any job at all… to a league MVP? The biggest thing is that in my waiting period I WORKED! I stayed ready so I didn’t have to get ready.
Fast forward 5 years later and I’m competing in the Women’s National Basketball League…
Just know, I get it- the road can be long and hard. To this day, I still remind myself ‘patience in the process’. So wherever you are in your basketball journey, I hope you can too. 🧡🏀
Keep persevering basketball buddy and don’t forget to look back on how far you’ve come! I’m cheering for you! 🎉
Ps. We did beat the Lightning last night! Woo!
Tuesday, 5 November 2024
Okay, I’m a little late on this post, but committed to it, so better late than never! Saturday was our first game of the season, so I do think that’s a fair excuse, but also I do remember wondering to myself if I should do it that day or not- being that it was a game day. May just have to keep you guessing tbh, because I think it’s definitely possible, but for the first game I was just trying to keep my mind free from any obligations outside of the game.
What does that look like? Well, honestly a tad bit of cleaning the house! Yeah, that was actually so nice and the best thing for my mind to feel decluttered is to relax in a clean, decluttered space. Anyone with me?
Anyway.. The first game was great! We defeated Southside 57-45; very solid win. I am very excited, but also anticipating my body being extremely tired with all the games ahead. I’ve had a few people tell me we are a very fun team to watch – very fast paced and lots of shooters everywhere. Yes, it is also a very fun style of basketball to play!
Definitely an adjustment for me to get into the exact style of play that Ryan Petrik expects of us (less reliant on post-ups as you’d probably notice), but I love how much my game is expanding. Definitely have to embrace the challenge and I am keen to see the personal growth from game to game.
Tomorrow we face Townsville in another home game, which is gonna be so good. Love the home games and then next I write I’ll probably be on the plane back from Adelaide – woah. Let the traveling begin! See you in the air! 🙂
Saturday, 26 October 2024
Perseverance is a word that has come up a lot lately. It’s actually amazing how peoples’ words can ignite something inside of you or open your eyes to something you just weren’t seeing – of course words have the opposite power as well, but in this instance I have felt very encouraged.
During media day the man interviewing us pointed out to me just how much perseverance has played a role in my journey.
Then during my initial consultation with the Lynx nutritionist this week, she also pointed out the fact that there are a lot of players that would’ve given up years ago, but that it’s amazing I have persevered to receive my first fully rostered WNBL contract at the age of 28.
What I love so much about this though is that this truly is my message to you – all my readers out there. We have to fall in love with the process. And I suppose I now realize a prominent ingredient to falling in love with the process is perseverance.
Trust me ya’ll, if I can do it – you can do it. And I really mean that. Just this week I received an official diagnosis for inattentive ADHD. In some ways, it’s a huge relief – no wonder simple tasks have always been so difficult for me! But praise God for His strength to persevere and hopefully inspire others to do the same – whatever the obstacle!
I’m genuinely so grateful for these kind people opening my eyes to all of this – I’m not even sure they realized the effect their words had on me.
And on that note – I hope you know the power of the words you speak; on and off the court – go encourage someone today!
Saturday, 19 October 2024
I believe I’m finally starting to get into the swing of things – despite literally 4 medical appointments booked all in a row on my “off-day” this past Wednesday haha… idk why I do that to myself either; sometimes getting things all done on the same day seems more inviting to me than spreading them out, but I always regret it later lol.
Anyway, I survived the small hectic parts of the week. Had one of my best trainings ever on Tuesday (you know, when you just reach that flow state?!), only to wake up feeling extremely low on Thursday and not even wanting to go to training! Some retail therapy (for podiatry recommended shoes) straight after training perked me up along with my favorite worship music on replay. But yeah – the emotional rollercoaster is no joke.
Friday was much better though and a fun day of scrimmage against the Academy players – coached by none other than David Morrell himself! Haha, yes, so fun and such a blessing to get to do this beautiful life with my amazing hubby! 🙂
And of course as soon as some sort of normalcy sets in, we will be starting games and traveling all around the country… but I am in full anticipation for the season to start!
Media day on Monday and another scrimmage Friday – watch out, David, you’re going down… again! ;P Lot’s to look forward to – oh yea, and praise God, I really believe my hip will be healed; it is feeling sooo much better!!
Saturday, 12 October 2024
According to our trainer – week three is the hardest week to get through in regards to fatigue. That was the best news ever when I heard it on Thursday because, not gonna lie, this was a tough week!
I probably had my worst training yet on Tuesday. Even though my hip was the best it has felt all pre-season (thank God for doctors and pain medication!) my legs were giving out on me left right and centre. And then yeah just in general I have been pretty exhausted and feeling very worn down / unmotivated this week.
When I went through Tuesday’s training, my antidote was gratitude. When I’m feeling exhausted, worn down and unmotivated, my antidote is gratitude. It’s amazing what a little shift in perspective can do for you. And as I’ve said, I never want to take this for granted. I am so happy to be here.
Not to mention, the recovery at the beach every day – what a blessing! I love Australia! And your girl is about to be bronze AS (one can hope anyway!;)
Oh yeah. PS. I got a new phone on Thursday! Praise the Lord because my old phone’s battery was so failing me! Hopefully, I can show up more on the socials now, but may be a bit difficult to get out of that habit that my phone is dying so I can’t do anything – haha!
Saturday, 5 October 2024
Week two of Lynx preseason was definitely not short of eventful. Transitioning into the new schedule is a balancing act, but when you add necessary appointments on top of it, it becomes quite choco’block.
If you know me, I love a slow morning. I am definitely a morning person, but I hate hate hate feeling rushed. So, I do everything I can to make sure I’ve got all I need the night before packed and ready to go for a seamless trek down to Bendat. Because the other necessity to keep in balance is the amount of sleep I get each night and we don’t need to be wasting time in the mornings looking for the lucky pair of underwear, right?
Well, I started Monday feeling ultra calm and even leaving to arrive early for my physio appointment. Turns out, I needed more time with the physio then expected, so I got to weights late, which made me feel rushed for fueling myself for training… then Tuesday I scheduled a very rare early morning coaching session for one of my athlete’s because otherwise I am completely booked out in the afternoons now. That went really well, but again, just left my morning more full than usual.
Wednesday did not feel like an off day because David and I cleaned all Tuesday night and Wednesday morning for our house inspection and I booked in a required drug test, my laser appointment, and – following my physio appointment on Monday – I was required to go get an MRI and see the physio again; all things I am very grateful for, but yes just didn’t feel like I stopped until finally getting home to David making dinner for us – yeah, he’s the best!
Then the long-awaited Thursday… Like I said, I am such a morning person, I love our early morning trainings on Thursday/Fridays. But why do I do this to myself – I booked an eyebrow appointment for 6:15am because I had to reschedule it from Wednesday and it’s all that was available before my 3rd physio appointment of the week at 7am straight into training.
Is there such a thing as routine? I am beginning to think not.
Saturday, 28 September 2024
I am back on my laptop for this journal entry (PTL!). This laptop is 10 years old, so I do still believe it is about time for a new one. However, it is also time for a new phone, some business expenses, a lot of expensive medical appointments and even a rent increase on our apartment (what’s up with that? ;P). As they say, “if it don’t rain, it pours”!
But no, I am feeling so grateful having survived and thrived in our first full week of pre-season (minus the Monday public holiday!). As I said, there is nothing like game fitness, but training with your teammates will certainly get you there fast! It’s such a great feeling, but also so exhausting at the same time. I’m very much looking forward to getting out of this stage of building the fitness up and instead feeling like I am conquering my fitness every single day.
Y’all, basketball is so much fun though. And to be able to play at this level. I’m gonna be honest with you – I have a lot of moments where I cannot believe I am actually a professional basketball player in the WNBL. Like especially in these first two weeks as a fully rostered player… there have been so many “pinch me” type moments. I am loving my schedule; the transition has been smooth. I can’t even express how grateful I am and how good God is, because I am telling you, it is only by HIS GRACE that I am here.
I don’t want to take a single moment for granted! Thank you, Jesus!
Monday, 23 September 2024
WNBL pre-season officially began Wednesday! And what a start it was with the Hoops Fest event taking place right here in Perth!
It was the NBL’s Round 1 and a pre-season tournament for the WNBL which makes for a fun event, but a little bit rocky for us women having only 1 day of training and no contact play for the past 6 weeks.
Many of the teams to travel across the country only brought their academy players and Perth had 10 academy players suit up as well. So with that in mind, it was a great opportunity for a lot of young players and I personally felt like a good way to jump straight into the demand we’ll be putting on our bodies the next couple months.
But man, there is nothing like game fitness! I’ve tried to stay fit in the lead up and it’s truly just so easy to lose when you’re not actually playing games. Also, super happy to say my hip pulled up alright thanks to our physio- still gotta get to the bottom of it, but my confidence is a lot higher than it was not even two weeks ago.
Playing in the RAC Arena was also so very fun! I would love any future opportunities to play there again.
I’m so very excited for pre-season to get into full swing. We were given this public holiday off which I am also grateful for because my hormones are playing up once again and some extra rest is certainly helpful.
What I’m not looking forward to is finding out how much money I have to spend on a new laptop…. I believe mine has finally taken its last breath. I JUST switched over to type this out on my phone trying to stay calm. Lols.
Monday, 16 September 2024
Wow, what a week! Truthfully, it’s been quite a rollercoaster and even today I felt like I was just overflowing with gratitude to the point of happy tears, but there have been some unhappy tears this week too.
First off, I can’t even believe it, but we celebrated one full year of Pro Ball Buddy on the 10th! I mean that is just crazy that a whole year has gone by. I shared in IG that I wasn’t feeling super happy about it because I really don’t think I have done enough, buuuut upon reflection I am willing to admit I have certainly done a lot!
The thing about starting a business is you know it won’t be easy, but you really don’t know half of what goes into it – the groundwork; the foundation; all the behind the scenes; noone really talks about it. Probably, a) because it can be boring, but also b.) because it is a lot of time you don’t want to spend mulling over any further by talking about it – it’s just on to the next step so we can get to the fun part. I mean, that’s how I feel at least haha…
But truly, you just don’t know what you don’t know and that is why you really just have to jump in and start. I’m so glad I started when I did, because a) learning in real time is usually the best way to learn and b) ya’ll wouldn’t even know PBB existed on my heart until now? Or even later? I just couldn’t hold it inside of me for that long!!
Anyway, so I was feeling emotional about all the above (not to mention, one of those business tasks turning into a bigger deal than it needs to be, just adding to the stress) only to find out mother nature came knocking on my door the very next day, unsummoned because it is not supposed to be that time of month for me. But it’s always nice to know I’m not going crazy!!
And all the ladies out there know what the rest of the week entailed for me – never a fun time; especially with my hormones forcing me to have the oddest sleeping hours – up at 2:30am on Thursday morning and then asleep at 1:30am on Friday night! But I will say, all the “shoulda been sleeping hours” were soooo productive. I even believe I’ve had a breakthrough with how to serve ya’ll better! Which is so exciting!
Meanwhile, I’ve been seeing dr’s and physio’s and chiros inbetween all my workouts and getting all the things done that I know I just won’t have the time or the capacity for once Lynx season begins this Wednesday (including registering for a WA driver’s license!)! So there’s highs and lows and checking things off the year long to-do list just simply in all of that aaaand…
My hip has been acting up all the way since the end of NBL1 season over a month ago and just toward the end of this week it’s actually been feeling the best it’s felt ever since – praise the Lord!
What did I tell ya? Welcome to my emotional rollercoaster ride of a life! Don’t ever doubt it – God is good all the time and you’ll always catch me dancing in the rain (bc the rain hides the tears, duh! ;)!
Saturday, 7 September 2024
Margaret River was so wonderful! Thanks for following along if you were hanging out in my IG stories! I must admit, I cannot believe we haven’t been down within the 3 years we’ve lived in Perth – wow! How spoiled are we Western Australians?! We truly do not even realize how good we have it here!! The spectacular views are just never ending!
Probably one of my favorite memories was going canoeing with David and my parents. I must also admit that I was very much confident up until actually being in the canoe! It was hysterical though and I did eventually get a hang of it; so much so, David and I created an obstacle course for ourselves down the river! But my oh my, any time I need a laugh I will only need to look at that initial moment of being on the water which my mom so kindly caught on camera!
The other favorite part of the trip would have to be the final Monday David and I spent playing games and laughing about in the big green yard of our AirBnB! It was the perfect weather and we got the sun on our skin while playing Tetherball and Quiots and watched the sun go down while sitting on our favorite seat of the trip – the chair swing! Then we went to dinner in the last of the sun, which was just a magical car drive because of the animals rummaging the rolling green hills next to the silhouette of the trees against a golden sky!
THEN we came home to the most star-filled sky you have ever seen! Despite our vain efforts to make a fire that night, we still enjoyed basking in the starlight.
If I learned anything from this trip it is that David and I have a significant appreciation for the outdoors – ugh the Quininup Waterfall was stunning too! Maybe it’s because the indoors are so prominently featured in our profession of basketball, or maybe it’s because it feels a little bit closer to heaven, but man I do believe we all would do well with just a little bit more sunshine every day! And it shouldn’t take a holiday to get us there.
Have you gone outside today? 🙂
Sunday, 25 August 2024
Phew – nothing quite like the come back game! The game I’m referring to is the jumping-back-into-workouts game! I started out the week super motivated, as I mentioned I felt last week and definitely feel proud with my output.
However, being as sore as I was on Wednesday is never fun. But challenging yourself and getting back into that mentality of hard work is really fun to me. I actually think I would love to be a bodybuilder one day – I love the gym that much!
I will admit, the on court stuff hasn’t been the easiest simply because David (ie. husband and personal basketball trainer) has been taking a mental break from the game himself. Having a trainer makes such a big difference in workouts, but I do think I made the most of my time on the court.
We have actually been sharing one car between the two of us for the past week and a half, and my Monday plans were a bit ruined because I forgot this minor detail upon creating my itinerary for the day. No zero days though – I just stayed later to get a few shots up after my coaching sessions that night. Definitely would not be my favorite thing to do normally, but you gotta do what you gotta do sometimes!
On Thursday, I ended up having a jam packed day (gym, coffee date with a friend, massage, dinner with David and parents) and realized heading into it that I would not be able to fit basketball in (remember – one car between me and David and y’all, sweating as much as I do is half the issue – so annoying to have to fit in showering 3 times a day! lol) Anyway, that’s why I decided I would fit in a court session today – 7:30am at Land Performance Centre this morning!
I love the shooting gun – once you get going it can be so addicting!
Mondays actions were ensuring I had no zero days.
Moving Thursday’s court session to Sunday was ensuring I shot on the amount of days I said I would.
No excuses.
Except when you go to Margaret River…. Lol. 😉 Can’t wait to tell you all about it!
Saturday, 17 August 2024
Well, it’s been two weeks since we got knocked out of the NBL1 West Finals and I have spent the last two weeks trying to recover from being sick.
I believe I had some sort of influenza because I had the full on sweats, chills, body aches on top of all the normal cold symptoms – congestion and coughing. Not how anyone wants to spend their off days, but someone asked me today if it was a good thing to be able to have the time to stay home and recover and that question actually made me realize how grateful I should be.
Because yes, I would be so much more upset if I had taken the necessary two weeks off from workouts after a season ends only to get sick the following week – that would actually be so tragic! Like, no – I wouldn’t allow myself to take off. At least, I would know that it would be very bad for my basketball off-season development.
So tonight we are grateful. Grateful for how productive the last 3 days have been at least – despite the congestion and cough still lingering – how much education I’ve been able to put in towards building Pro Ball Buddy and how motivated I am feeling entering the week ahead.
Never underestimate the power of time off. It will do your basketball journey so so much good in the long run!
Saturday, 10 August 2024
To be (happy), or not to be (happy)? That is the question…
Today was the NBL1 West Grand Final with Rockingham defeating Cockburn and officially becoming the 2024 NBL1 West Champions.
On the men’s side, I just saw that Mandurah also won… which is super depressing, but I can’t get into that one.
I say “also”, because both my team and David’s Joondalup team lost to the now reigning champs. And they often say it’s good to be able to claim that you lost to the Champion, but neither of us are feeling particularly good about it right now.
So why question being happy? Well, there is a part of me that is happy for my ex-teammates and coach over at Rockingham. So happy for them because I’ve got big love for them all. But in the same breath… man… we almost beat them. And that is heartbreaking.
We didn’t get our fairy tail ending, but here’s a Team Morrell storyline for you:
Lakeside went into overtime in the Semi-final against Rockingham at the scoreline of 80 to 80.
Joondalup went into overtime in the Semi-final against Mandurah at the scoreline of 80 to 80.
Both Rockingham and Mandurah went on to win the NBL1 West Grand Final.
Weird.