Athlete Interview: Lil Dart

Originally from Brisbane, Lil Dart is an Australian basketball player currently competing for Eltham in the NBL1 South League. Across her career, she has earned Queensland State Team representation, captaining the side in 2019, while also collecting multiple individual and team honours including a North League Championship with the Northside Wizards in 2023. Lil was also selected as one of only seven Australian athletes invited to the 2020 NBA Women’s Academy Next Generation Showcase in New Orleans.

Q1: How did your basketball journey begin?

I picked it up in primary school. I got involved in the Aussie Hoops program and multiple other sports including netball, track and field, cross country, nippers and surfing but stuck with basketball in the end.

Q2: Who was your biggest influence or role model growing up?

As I got older and started watching more and more basketball games, I loved watching all the old opal players like Penny Taylor, Lauren Jackson, that era of players.

Q3: At what point did you realise you could take basketball to a high level?

I was playing lots of different sports and trying to split my time between all of them. Eventually, I had to pick as I’d be driving down to the coast on a Saturday morning and then driving to basketball and trying to squeeze in all the training became a bit too much, I decided something had to give.

Q4: You’ve captained the Queensland State Team. What was your biggest learning from that experience?

At a young age, when you’re playing nationals, those sorts of pathways, players are very focused on their own individual performances, where coaches are watching you and there’s a lot of pressure to perform. Having that opportunity to captain shifted my focus where I had to focus on bringing all the girls together and making sure everyone was on the same page in addition to performing, so that really distracted me from those other pressures which was nice. It also made me realise that it is a bigger game than your own performance and how well you play, you have to carry everyone else along for the ride and focus on the bigger picture.

Q5: Despite it being cancelled, how did it feel to be selected for the NBA Women’s Academy Showcase?

It was a pretty cool experience, I was genuinely shocked as I hadn’t realised that I had been submitted for it at all! I remember getting an email about it and thinking what a cool experience! I had never been outside of Australia at that point so it was really exciting going to get a passport and everything. I was 15 at that point so pretty young but unfortunately Covid hit so everything was put online but wasn’t the same experience as going to America!

Q6: How did playing overseas help you grow as a player and as a person?

Playing overseas was another really amazing experience. Last year was my first year playing overseas in New Zealand and I was really fortunate to slot into a great environment and be down in southern Hoiho. That experience definitely allowed me to grow as a player but also as a person. I thought I knew a lot about life but only realised when I moved away from home that I couldn’t even steam vegetables or cook rice! So a lot of growth there!!

On the court then, I was surrounded by a really great group of players and coaches and people that really took me under their wing and allowed me to soak it all up.

Q7: Do you have a favourite basketball memory?

I’d probably have to say the past season in New Zealand, it was just a really cool environment – the people over there are just lovely and just the landscape and being able to travel around New Zealand was really awesome so it was more of a holistic memory both on and off the court. The girls were great, the basketball was really competitive and we had a really great team where everyone played their role and contributed so that whole season was very enjoyable for me. Getting to live with Paige Bradley and Rebecca Pizzey, we were always up to something! Overall, it’s just a really fun memory to look back on.

Q8: How do you balance your studies alongside your training and game schedule?

It definitely can be a lot at times but the way I like to look at it is sectioning off times throughout the day. I might start the day getting up early, doing some study in the morning and then break that up with training and also ensuring I have time to rest and not do anything which is really important. That structure and routine is a good reminder that basketball isn’t the be all and end all for me, I also have something outside of it as an outlet and vice-versa for study. So lots of time management and organisation which I’m still working on!

Q9: How has training at SRA impacted your performance as an athlete?

At the beginning of the season, Shaun reached out to me and I was fortunate enough to do my training here.

I think just the detail he goes into and how the program is really sport-specific and structured to basketball specifically makes a massive difference. Each exercise that I do is really related to basketball specific movements which I find makes a massive difference to my explosiveness, strength and power which have translated really well onto the court. Shaun always makes himself available and is able to adjust my program based on load management or if something isn’t feeling right, he’s always willing to discuss it with me and come up with a solution which is great!

Q10: What do you enjoy most about the environment here?

I love that you come into the gym and you’re greeted with all different athletes. Obviously, mainly basketball but it’s interesting how you’ll play against someone on the weekend where you’re in that competitive mode and they seem a bit crazy on the court and then you run into them in the gym and they’re actually not as crazy as you thought they were! I love that aspect where it’s a real community, plenty of chats in the gym and I love a good chat. It’s also different to a commercial gym where you have to wait 20 minutes for a machine!

Q11: What has been the most challenging period of your basketball journey so far?

I think the big one for me, which I’m sure it was the same for a lot of people, was Covid-19. That was a pretty tough time where sport was cancelled, the world shut down and just being able to stay motivated through that was pretty hard but leaning on the people around me definitely helped a lot.

Q12: What advice would you give to young girls playing basketball?

Having fun is super important – you can make so many friends playing basketball.

So many people are focused on the destination and fixated on the end point but it’s also really important to enjoy the journey to that destination because that’s where you’ll make the best memories to look back on.

Q13: What goals are you currently working toward, both on and off the court?

Off the court, I have a year and a half left of my law degree – that’s probably my biggest goal I’m working on off the court at the moment.

On the court – just working on skills, trying to add in different packages to my game and trying to soak up as much as I can from different players and coaches that come along and see where that takes me!