Quiet achiever Steph Reid was one of WNBL’s best; now she’s Europe bound and has Paris on her mind

Late-blooming Opals Olympic squad member Steph Reid was hit hard by the anxiety of being called the best Aussie point guard in the WNBL. This is how she found peace as an opportunity beckoned in Europe.

Michael RandallBasketball journalist

@MickRandallHS

6 min read

May 31, 2024 - 6:00PM

Women's Basketball

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Steph Reid has had to fight and scrap for everything she’s achieved in basketball.

So, when people began to realise she just might be the best Australian point guard in the WNBL, the Opals Paris Olympic hopeful found herself dealing with an unfamiliar pressure.

“I kind of flew under the radar for so long, so there wasn’t any pressure on me other than what I put on myself,” Reid said.

“You want to win WNBL titles, you want to be a starter, you want to be an Opal, so then, when you start to get noticed and people expect things from you, it builds a different type of pressure and expectation.

“That was something that just kind of hit me and I battled that performance anxiety the last two years with Townsville. People expected me to be this now, so I had to be that, it created stress that I had to perform every time.

“People would say ‘you had a great season’ and I’d be like ‘that was the worst season I ever had’ so your perception of the way you perform is so skewed based on the inner feelings of stress.”

Steph Reid is pushing to make her Olympics debut in Paris. Picture: FIBA

On the cusp of an Olympic berth as part of an Opals squad competing in China this week, the 27-year-old revealed working with a sports psychologist, coupled with committing her thoughts to paper through journaling has helped her achieve mental balance.

“Athletes, we’re perfectionists and I think there’s a healthy component to that in wanting to be better but, through journaling and seeing a sports psychologist, I’ve got better at managing it and learning to laugh at my shortcomings more than be angry about them,” she said.

“I got into journaling about two years ago, it’s just something that keeps me quite grounded and helps me with managing that pressure and those thoughts that come with being a professional athlete.

“It gives me a little bit of structure and it also gives me something to do outside of basketball.”

SEARCHING FOR A NEW EDGE

After four years in Townsville with “ride-or-die” coach Shannon Seebohm that produced a WNBL title, Reid was gearing up for a fifth campaign with the Fire.

But there was something nagging at her. Had she become too comfortable?

“I was adamant I was going to stay in Townsville,” the Mt Eliza-born gun said.

“But Sammy (agent Sam Wloszczowski) asked me ‘are you sure you don’t want to go to Europe?’.

Steph Reid had full support from Townsville Fire coach and long-time mentor Shannon Seebohm on taking her game to Europe. Picture: Getty Images

“I told Shannon it was something I was weighing up and we both agreed it was time for me to take a step in that direction and get out of my comfort zone.

“When you’re in the same environment and you play the same people every week I think that edge that I had that made me so successful in the first place, that decreased a little.

“I knew it was time to make myself uncomfortable to the point that I really have to step up my game.”

A new beginning on a lucrative deal 14,500kms away in Hungary with Sopron Basket should do just the trick.

“I just wanted to go somewhere new where no one knows me and I have to prove myself again, start from the bottom and work my way up,” she said.

“It’s scary the idea to move the other side of a world to a place where you don’t know the language. (Language-learning app) Duolingo can only do so much. I’m trying my best.

“But a few of my Hungarian teammates have already messaged me saying how excited they were for me to come and the club messaged as well so it’s definitely nice to know they’re looking out for me and they’re looking forward to me getting there.”

Sopron has a couple of elite references in Opals Ezi Magbegor and Alice Kunek who combined to lead the club to the 2022-23 Hungarian National Championship.

“I spoke to both Ezi and Alice and they both said the coach speaks English, a lot of people speak English in the country, and it’s a good environment where they look after you,” Reid said.

“They’re very defensive-minded, which will hopefully play into my strong suit because that’s what I like to do, get up and in, be annoying.”

Reid led the Fire to the 2023 WNBL title alongside Lauren Nicholson and Shyla Heal. Picture: Getty Images

‘ONE OF THE PHOENIX BOYS’

The familiarity of three off-seasons training every day with Seebohm has been broken — but Reid’s found a superb substitute in the South East Melbourne Phoenix.

A long-time link with fellow Frankstonite Simon Mitchell opened the door and the likes of Owen Foxwell, Angus Glover, Luke Rosendale and Craig Moller have welcomed her in.

“I train with the boys nearly every day, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, I do weights with them, they’ve literally let me in the team room, I’ve got access to their protein supplements, they’ve really taken me in as one of their own,” she said.

“I feel like one of them, we talk a lot of smack and I think it just brings out a different competitive aspect.

“You can’t show up and not be good, you can’t have bad days and I think that keeps me to a high level and keeps me focused.

“They go hard at me and we have good battles, we’re shooting against each other, trying to win games and hit gamewinners and just get better every day.”

Building off the back of a brilliant WNBL season, the confidence Reid has taken out of her on-court battles at the Phoenix have translated to a monster NBL1 South season with Frankston.

Steph Reid has been a standout across the NBL1 playing for the Frankston Blues. Picture: Trent Moore Sports Photography

Apart from Reid herself, The Blues’ opposition will be hoping she’s among the final 12 Opals on the plane to Paris, given she’s plundered 27.4 points — second in the league — 5.7 assists, 4.4 rebounds, 3.3 steals (second). That includes two 40-plus point nights and four straight wins before she left for China.

“I know I’m doing the work and consistently doing what I need to do and my game has started to translate, my NBL1 games are getting better and better and I’m feeling better in my own skin, so it’s nice,” she said.

“I walk into the games knowing I’ve worked hard all week and this is where I get to show it.

“So it’s a fun thing for me, especially being at home and playing with my best friend Courtney Wilkins.

“When I’m having fun is when I play the best.”

RUNNING WITH THE GOAT AS DREAM EDGES CLOSER TO REALITY

Reid’s having plenty of fun chasing the dream she’s had since she was a kid — become an Olympian.

She wore the green and gold in Brazil earlier this season, ensuring the Opals qualified for Paris and, right now, she’s in China with a crack squad of the country’s best and brightest with an opportunity to impress.

“Now that it’s (Olympics) actually a realistic idea, it’s kind of scary and weird but it’s exciting,” she said.

“We’ve got a good core group of the girls who aren’t in the WNBA, LJ (Lauren Jackson), Madg (Tess Madgen), Darcy (Garbin), (Marianna) Tolo, lots of experience and it just makes you play your best basketball.”

Reid says the Olympics is now a realistic dream. Picture: FIBA

Directing names like that should be daunting but they — and Reid herself — know she belongs.

“As a point guard, you have to come in and be confident and I think my strength has always been being able to direct my teammates and execute game plans,” she said.

“I guess I’m still kind of the ‘new kid’ but you’ve got to organise and the girls they all know I just want the best for the team and I want to win so they make it really comfortable.

“LJ especially, I had her on my team a lot in training camps and she was like ‘Steph, what are we running?’ and I’m like ‘Oh, gosh, isn’t this cool, she’s my idol’.”