Retirement calls
’Neers captain prepares for off-court roles
It may have been their only win of the season but for retiring captain Vanessa Weber, there was no better way to say goodbye to the Toowoomba Mountaineers.
The club stalwart is preparing to hang up her boots with retirement at the end of the 2017 season beckoning, calling time on her playing days after a five-year stint with the Mountaineers.
Her final run-out in a Mountaineers jersey in the Garden City came on Saturday.
Expectations had been low after 15 straight losses but Weber (nee Horne) was determined to end her time on the court in Toowoomba on a high.
Her side pulled off a gutsy win that would put an end to their disappointing run of results and ensure their captain got the heroine’s send-off she deserved.
“It was good to end my time here on a high,” Weber said.
“But I am getting to the point now where I have to start thinking about other things in my life but I still want to be involved in the game.”
Weber is one half of a Toowoomba Basketball power-couple, with her husband Cameron also captaining the men’s QBL team this season.
The women’s captain is one of the most passionate bastions of the Toowoomba Basketball program, and does not plan to leave the city entirely, reflecting on what has been on a great career despite the difficulties endured by the Mountaineers in 2017.
“I have played five seasons now and there definitely have been some highs,” Weber said.
“One of the things I love about it is we keep fighting game in, game out and that’s why this is such a good association.
“I am hanging up the boots but I will still be coaching and I can’t wait for that.”