MOVING out of home and moving to Canberra for a year – possibly two – isn’t something most 16-year-olds have on their priority lists. But for Eltham resident Carly Turner, it’s a dream come true.
Turner has just been awarded a basketball scholarship at the Australian Institute of Sport, and will head north this year. It is proof that hard work does pay off.
“It’s been my dream for a long time,” she says. “It was the most unreal feeling ever and it still is so surreal that I’m going and it’s all happening and coming true.
Basketball is one of the eight founding sports at the AIS, which has produced star players who have gone on to international success, including Andrew Bogut, Lauren Jackson, Patrick Mills and Penny Taylor.
“I’m looking forward to the whole experience. Basketball is what I love and what I live for and this is an opportunity to play it at the highest level I can right now, with the best girls in the country.”
Basketball Victoria’s operations manager, Ross Wignell, says Turner will greatly benefit from the program.
“Under the guidance of coaches at the AIS, athletes like Carly will get the best opportunity to continue to develop and potentially represent their country in their chosen sport,” he says.
“She has continued to develop her game at a very good rate, achieving fantastic results due to her work ethic. Being offered a scholarship is definitely a reward for her efforts.”
Turner’s work ethic has been nothing short of enormous. She co-captained the Australian under-17 team this year after it qualified for the world championships in the Netherlands.
She stands nearly 1.8 metres [six feet] tall, but says: “I’m really short in that team … there’s girls my age or younger who are up to six-foot-five.
“We’re a very athletic team, with a fast-paced game style … we can’t really tell until we get there how we’re going to go but we’ve got a very talented squad and we saw glimpses of what we’re capable of against New Zealand.”
Turner has represented Vic Metro at state level for the past three years and been part of Basketball Victoria’s National Intensive Training Program for the past four. Not to mention playing for her local club, the Eltham North Jets, and the Diamond Valley Basketball Association at junior representative level.
She trains up to six days a week, two or three times a day, and splits the rest of her time between the gym, study and trying to maintain something of a social life.
“It’s a struggle,” she says with a laugh. “I have to put in an effort to be organised and keep my grades up, and putting time aside to study takes time out of my social life.
“It’s hard to balance but this is the price you have to pay. Luckily it’s a team sport because I’d never be able to play individual sport. I need people around.
“I used to play a lot of netball and couldn’t handle being in one position. There’s always something to do in basketball. You can never stop learning and working.”
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