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Skipper takes to basketball’s return like a Duck to water

A FORCED year off from basketball has reignited the passion for Geelong Supercats women’s captain Alex Duck.

Having to sit out in 2020 due to the COVID pandemic allowed “Ducky” the space to reflect on what was important.

“It was different for everyone, but for me — I enjoyed stepping away from it a little bit,” Duck said.

“Basketball had been my life for 20 years, and it had been so full on for that amount of time that it was actually quite nice to take a step away.

“I definitely missed it, but it put things in perspective and made me appreciate other things — basketball isn’t everything.”

Despite enjoying the break and spending more time with family, Duck knew she would be back in a Supercats singlet in 2021.

“I wasn’t ready to let go of basketball yet,” she said.

“Playing on the weekend, I didn’t realise how much I missed that competitive basketball — it reignited my love for the game again, just from that one game.”

Still hurting from the NBL1 Championship loss in 2019, Duck is focused on redemption this season.

“We lost that final, and lost in a way that we wouldn’t have liked, because we just didn’t play well,” she said. “I definitely didn’t want to finish on that note.”

With a new coach and a newlook team, the Supercats are still finding their feet after a loss to Knox in Round 1.

“We have a really good group — a mixture of veterans and youth coming through as well, Duck said.

“It’s going to be learning curve each and every game. Because we are such a new group, it’s going to take us a while.”

Looking to secure their first win of the season against the Ringwood Hawks in Round 2, Duck said the team would be focused on communication and an up-tempo style of play.

“We have a bit of a smaller team this year, but we will want to come out confident and aggressive and play the fast-paced game that we want to play,” she said. little