By JARROD POTTER
DANDENONG Rangers guard Steph Cumming will head up north to join the 2012/13 WNBL surprise packet – the Townsville Fire.
Cumming, 22, from Endeavour Hills, has been a basketball mainstay the Dandenong Rangers throughout junior and senior ranks – only leaving briefly to attend the AIS between 2007 and 2009 – but believes she was ready for a new challenge and opportunity came begging from the Fire.
“I just thought it was a time for a change for me,” Cumming said.
“You only get one chance when you’re younger and this is my time to get out and try somewhere new.
“Spoke with Dandenong, then got a call from the Townsville coach (Chris Lucas) – I hadn’t thought about it beforehand (playing for Townsville) – he spoke really well and said good things about the program and I had played with those girls before.
Despite an already well-credential resume – including 152 WNBL matches and international experience with the Australian under-19 Gems – Cumming felt there was more to her game she could develop and the move to Townsville will help facilitate that growth.
“Just improving my own game is a major goal – I’ve got so many things to improve on and if I don’t make those moves to become a better player – I’ll just become older and opportunities will just become rarer,” Cumming said.
Looking back on 13 years of basketball at Dandenong, Cumming’s fondest memories were lifting the 2011/12 WNBL championship and winning three consecutive South East Australian Basketball League (SEABL) championships.
“Dandenong was always my junior club – I was there from when I was nine years old – apart from going to the AIS and coming back – made a lot of good friends there and it’s always been a good club,” Cumming said.
“One of the fondest moments would be winning the championship – it’s always a goal to win a WNBL championship and that’s something I’ll always look fondly on.
“Some of the girls in the SEABL team I’m really close friends with – you play basketball because you want to play and you make some of your best friends you can ever make in your life.
“Winning three (SEABL) championships in a row with your best friends is one of the best achievements you can have.”
Outside of WNBL, Cumming is weighing up options for the current SEABL season before a World University Games selection camp, with the hope of gaining selection for the two-week tournament in Russia later this year.
