Payne urges teammates to feed off underdog status

Originally published: June 2013, The Queensland Times

THE Ipswich Force women’s basketball team is pumped and ready for their Queensland Basketball League game against South West Metro on Saturday.

The fourth-placed Force has already defeated Metro in a home game 74-66 this season and is set for another win at Mt Gravatt.

Nadeen Payne, who is in her second season with the Force, believes that as the underdogs, the Force need to be committed, prepared and competitive for each game. The 20-year-old has been laying basketball since the age of eight and was hooked from the very start.

“Basketball is a team game, you get to make life-long friends and travel around the state,” Payne said.

“I became hooked on basketball and I just love everything about it.”

The Force are currently sitting fourth on the Queensland Basketball League ladder but have done well against the tougher teams with its only losses coming against top two teams Mackay and Gladstone.

Payne also gives back to the game, coaching younger players, centres in particular, to help improve their skills for a game situation. The Post Players Program helps young centres improve their shooting, attacking and defensive skills. Payne is also a coach in the Ipswich Basketball Association’s Future Force Hoop Stars, with one course finishing today.

“We build their confidence and give them time to practice and improve their skills so they’re prepared for a game situation,” Payne said.

“You need to keep at it and use other people’s criticism as motivation to keep improving and prove them wrong”.

Alongside Payne, the Force’s centre position ranks are boosted by 17-year-old Meg Essex. Essex has played for four years and treats her role as an enjoyable challenge. “It’s a challenge to play centre every week, but basketball is a really social game and it keeps you active,” she said.

“We hope to place (in the top three) at the end of the season and that everyone will put in as a team, “If we do that, we’ll absolutely be in the top three”.

A win on Saturday could see the Force move into third spot on the ladder.