WNBL: Boomers legend Shane Heal is astounded by the talent of his daughter Shyla
Shane Heal is adamant his daughter, Shyla, is a better player than he was, as a 19-year-old. She plans to nominate for the 2021 WNBA draft in April and a first-round pick is on the cards.
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Aussie basketball legend Shane Heal is adamant that his daughter Shyla is a better player than he was as a 19-year-old.
The Townsville Fire guard has just landed in the WNBL’s north Queensland hub and she plans to nominate for the 2021 WNBA draft in April.
“Her skills are far better than mine were, at that age … particularly on both sides of her body, her left and right (skills) are pretty similar,” Heal said.
“She’s a much better defender than I was. She’s always prided herself on being the best defender on her team, she’s always embraced that and loved playing defence. I wasn’t the best defender on our team.
“She’s forecasted to be in the first round of the WNBA Draft in April.”
So far, the youngster has won two golds, a silver and a bronze medal for Australia’s under-16s, 17s and 19s junior ranks.
On Thursday, Opals coach Sandy Brondello told News Corp that she’ll be watching Heal closely, when she enters the WNBL hub to survey talent ahead of Tokyo 2021 and the 2022 Basketball World Cup.
Heal might be astonished by his daughter’s talent and development, but he’s certainly not surprised.
“Her work ethic is off the charts … even from a young age, she’s always had that. We’d catch her doing sit ups and push ups in her room,” Heal said.
“I always told her: I’m not going to push you to train, you have to come and get me. I’ll do as much training as you want, but you’ve got to initiate it.
“She’s always wanting to do more and push herself. We’ve done so much work and her skill level has gone above and beyond.”
This year — through COVID-19 lockdown — the father-daughter duo trained for five days each week at their local courts in Menai and Sutherland.
Shyla — who can shoot 100 three-pointers in 107 attempts — said she has always been inspired by her father’s attitude and work ethic.
“When he coaches me, he says: I’m not going to go easy on you, I’m going to push you harder than everyone else,” Shyla said.
“I’ve learnt a lot about mentality … it’s always about the way you think, in a game if something’s not going right, always having the mentality that you can still do it, staying positive.
“And work ethic on and off the court. If you’re always doing more work than other people than obviously you’re going to be in a better place.”
The 19-year-old lights up at the prospect of one day making it to the WNBA and the Australian Opals side.
But for now, Shyla is focusing squarely on the upcoming WNBL season and settling into her new club, the Townsville Fire.
“It’s always really special putting on the green and gold … especially because Dad represented Australia, so to go to the Olympics would be a dream come true,” she said.
“I plan to nominate (for the 2021 WNBA draft) and I’m really excited, but I’m focusing on WNBL right now. I want to have a really good season here, then hopefully it follows onto making me go in the first round, that’s the main goal.”