Luxford tosses career back into the ring
FORMER Geelong rookie footballer Michael Luxford says he still wants to be professional sportsman after returning to basketball.
The 23-year-old, who played two games for Geelong after being signed as a category B rookie, has returned to the court, playing his first game in five years with the Geelong Supercats earlier this month.
It was at the end of last footy season, after Luxford juggled VFL commitments at Essendon with GFL footy at South Barwon, that the forward-midfielder decided to go away and assess his options.
“I told them (Essendon), ‘I really don’t know what I want to do, whether I stick with football or go to basketball’,” he said yesterday.
“I went over to Europe with my brother and my mum, and a couple of mates, and didn’t think about sport really, just cleared my head and had a break.
“I came back from Europe and realised I really do missed basketball.”
He reached out to Aussie great Chris Anstey, his school coach at Caulfield Grammar, to seek advice on the best way back into the sport.
Anstey then put him in touch with Illawarra Hawks head coach Rob Beveridge, who invited him to Wollongong as an NBL training partner, where he spent three months.
“I went there in early November for a week and got back into it and then he offered me to stay for the remainder of the season,” Luxford said.
“I was there for three months, fine-tuning my skills, learning off the coaches as players, just as a training partner. That really helped me, because I was training with the best people in Australia.”
But it was not until Supercats coach Leon O’Neill reached out in late January or early February that Luxford saw a tangible route back onto the court.
“The transition was pretty smooth,” he said.
With Round 1 under his belt — 10 points, five rebounds, four steals and a Supercats win — he said he would focus on his strengths as he pursued an NBL career next summer.
“I’m nearly six or seven kilograms lighter than when I started football when I was 18,” he said.
“Footy has really taught me hard work and the dedication and sacrifice you need to give to the game to make it.
“I really want to be on an NBL roster, that’s my ultimate goal, or even just to play professionally. That’s the whole reason I came back.
“I’ve just turned 23 and I’m still young enough to give it a crack. I’ve really got a year or two to make it.”