Shyla Heal debuts new signature basketball shoe as she plots return to WNBA

Three years after her brutal WNBA exit, Shyla Heal is plotting a return to the big league — and she’ll be doing it in her own signature shoe, tailor made for female hoopers.

Three years after her brutal WNBA axing, young Aussie shooting star Shyla Heal is plotting a return to the big league.

And she’s doing it in her own signature shoe, an idea born out of a desire to give young girls and women who play basketball a dedicated footwear option — something she was never afforded.

Heal, still just 22 but entering her eighth season as a professional basketballer, revealed she’d knocked back WNBA training camp offers in each of the past two years but has made her peace with the 2021 shock of being traded by the Chicago Sky and immediately cut by Dallas just five games into her rookie season.

The No.8 draft pick is ready to have another crack at the WNBA in her debut signature shoe, designed in collaboration with Adelaide-based apparel brand FBL and believed to be a first in Australian women’s basketball, which Code Sports has dubbed The Shyla 1.

Shyla Heal has launched her own signature basketball shoe. Picture: Richard Dobson

“I get asked about this a fair bit, it was three years ago now and It was hard at the time but I look back at it now as an experience,” Heal, who will play in the powerhouse Turkish league for Tarsus this season, said.

“A lot of people actually don’t know that I’ve been asked to go to training camp the past two years.

“I have said no, just because the timing wasn’t right for me. I was focusing on overseas basketball.

“Next year, I’m really going to try to go back to the WNBA and accept training camp offers.

“I think it’s time to show what I can really do in that league, because I believe in myself.”

The 2023 WNBL champion has become a resilient force, despite her tender years, as she’s overcome adversity — she was “super happy” to watch the Opals’ stunning bronze medal feats in Paris but disappointed to miss out, given she was part of the original Olympic selection squad.

Two words — ‘you can’ — are tattooed on her arm as a constant reminder of what she’s overcome, what she’s achieved and what’s to come.

Shyla Heal’s inspiring motto ‘you can’ adorns her arm — and her new shoe as a positive message to those who wear it. Picture: Richard Dobson

That tattoo is transposed on each shoe, Shy’s way of passing her inspiring message on.

“I had it tattooed somewhere really visible so I can see it every day, and it’s sort of my motto that I’ve lived by,” she said.

“I’m only 22 but I’ve had a fair few setbacks in my career so far and I think that messaging needs to be for all the young girls growing up.

“So I want the young girls who wear the shoe, whenever they’re tying up their shoe lace or bending down, they see ‘you can’ and it reminds them that you can do anything, just believe in yourself and keep working hard.

“It doesn’t matter if you have setbacks, just keep going, because that’s really what I believe in and strive for in my career.

“I know my name is on the shoe, but the ‘you can’ is the most important part.”

Shyla Heal shows off her new wheels. Picture: Richard Dobson

Frustrated at being forced to either wear netball shoes or search for small but expensive men’s basketball kicks, Heal devised a plan to create her own purpose-built shoe — knocking back endorsement deals until she found a brand that would offer her creative control.

“I wanted to really do something special for young girls growing up in Australia, something that we didn’t really have when I was growing up,” she said.

“So, about a year ago, FBL approached my agent, and they were really open to my ideas and it grew from there.”

Rigorous testing and tech has gone into the shoe to ensure it caters to the female foot.

Shyla Heal celebrates victory in the 2023 WNBL Grand Final series during her time with Townsville Fire. Picture: Getty Images

“I’ve been working really hard with the owner Steve Rolton in making the shoe not just look good but feel really good for young girls as well,” she said.

“We’ve done a bit of testing. I’ve been playing in the NBL1 in the shoes and I’ve been training every day in them.

“At the start, I didn’t like the way the sole felt, and so we sent them back to the factory and made some changes and now they feel really comfortable.

“They’re a low cut shoe, I made them really light, so it’s not heavy when I run.

“The sole of the shoe is really good, grip wise. I do a lot of stop, start on the court and I’m pretty creative with my moves so you need that in your shoe.

“There’s a bit of white and pink because pink’s my favourite colour, as I’m sure it is for most girls growing up.”

Part of Heal’s goal was to keep the shoes affordable — they retail for $120 — given the economic squeeze on Australian families.

Originally published as Shyla Heal debuts new signature basketball shoe as she plots return to WNBA