A Captains Journey!
My love for the game started at 14 years old at Secondary
School when a group of us realized that there was a game out there that was
more exciting than netball!! (I know you would never believe it!). So we threw
our netball skirts aside and swapped them for some baggy shorts and a vest that
fell off your shoulders. We found the tallest teacher we could in the school
which was actually a female and convinced her that she looked more like a
basketball coach than anyone else and would she sit every lunchtime in the sports
hall with us so we could practice and give up some afterschool time for
fixtures! (I don’t think we were really asking a lot).
Amazingly she agreed and I continued to play all through
school and had a brief spell training with the under 16 England Squad. At 16 I
finished at Theale Green and continued my passion for sport at Henley College
where I also joined Division 1 outfit Thames valley Tigers Women’s team. This
was a huge experience in my basketball life as I learnt that you travel more
than about 20 minutes to get to an away game and also that coaches can really
shout a lot when they aren’t happy.
Amazingly she agreed and I continued to play all through
school and had a brief spell training with the under 16 England Squad. At 16 I
finished at Theale Green and continued my passion for sport at Henley College
where I also joined Division 1 outfit Thames valley Tigers Women’s team. This
was a huge experience in my basketball life as I learnt that you travel more
than about 20 minutes to get to an away game and also that coaches can really
shout a lot when they aren’t happy.
This was the toughest experience I have ever had of being
publically ripped to pieces by a coach. What also didn’t help is that he was
Hungarian so most of the time I had no idea what he was saying anyway. I spent
many a training session moving to the back of drill lines hiding behind 6”4
females to watch what we actually should be doing. However this experience at
the elite end set me in good stead to deal with the highs and lows of playing
sport at the top end.
Unfortunately 2 seasons later the team collapsed due to the
sponsor pulling out!!
This was a blessing in disguise as this led me to find the
Rockets after being spotted at a Sunny D 3v3 competition. I went along to Queen
Anne’s School for my first session at 17 and I never looked back!
At 18 I was due to go to Brighton University to study sport,
however I deferred my entry and proposed an opportunity to the Rockets that
they simply couldn’t turn down!!!!! The plan was to dedicate a year to becoming
a fully qualified professional coach for the club. This was achieved and after
a year I had the coaching bug and turned down my place at Brighton and changed
to Reading Uni so I could continue my work with the club. My dream was to set
up the Rockets first every girls programme to compliment the women’s team they
already had running. Through much support from the club we are here 13 years
later with a strong and ever growing girls programme and in my opinion the best
women’s team we have ever had!
My journey so far has been an incredible mix of experiences
with a spell coaching on the England Basketball National programme, 2 summers
coaching in the states, getting a degree, Qualifying as a nutrition specialist,
a children’s fitness instructor and a gym instructor oh and also getting
married and having 2 amazing children (well I would say that!!)
Every weekend involves a trip on the M4 with a bag of balls
and a buggy in the boot Peppa Pig on the IPad and Pom Bears on tap!!!!
It has been an honour to be the Rockets captain over the
last 9 years and I know with the committed and talented group we have this year
I hope to lead them towards a league victory!
Yours
Steph
