Erin Phillips proves she can do anything, by kicking a basketball and ‘shooting’ a half-court goal
Olympian. Dual AFLW best and fairest. Captain. Coach. Mother. And now in this latest video of the Crows star kicking a basket from half-court, Erin Phillips proves she really can do anything.
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Is there anything Erin Phillips can’t do?
Not only is she a dual AFLW best and fairest and All-Australian captain, two-time AFLW premiership winner, Olympic and WNBA basketballer, captain, coach and mother, is she now … inventor of new sport?
Phillips has combined her love of football with her love of basketball and has lit up social media in the process with vision of her kicking a basketball with such precise aim that the swishes through the hoop — not once, but twice.
In June, she nailed the “kick/shot” from just outside the three-point line on a basketball court, using a drop punt action.
Speaking with The Advertiser in late July, Phillips revealed it had taken her eight tries to nail the three-point shot.
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“I told my media guy: ‘Give me 10 shots and if not, I won’t do it anymore’ and I did it on number eight,” she said.
“I’ve got to extend it further back now.”
And Phillips has stayed true to her word: video emerged this week of her nailing the kick/shot from half court.
And it is such an impressive kick that even her brother-in-law — and Hawthorn star — Shaun Burgoyne commented on Phillips Twitter account: “Got any kicking tips for me”.
Other followers wondered whether the fact that Phillips allowed the basketball to bounce before she kicked it, made it easier or harder to get the shot right.
“Easier. Basketballs are heavier than footballs, so hitting it as it falls is much harder. On the up you get more power and accuracy as it doesn’t result in as much plantar flexion,” one commentator mused.
Phillips, 34, is currently living in the United States with her wife Tracy and their three children, including newborn son Drew, where she works as a coach with her former WNBA team Dallas Wings, based in Texas.
During the AFLW off-season she is rehabing her left knee at the Michael Johnson Performance Centre, after she tore her ACL during the Crows emphatic grand final win on March 31.
Phillips said her rehab was planned around coming back to play football again.
But for the time being, what’s her next aim?
“Full court by the end of the season!” Phillips told her Twitter followers.