From arguably one of basketball’s most famous families, Jody was also a silver medallist at the Melbourne 2006 Commonwealth Games and is currently the assistant coach of the Tall Ferns.
On the work front, Jody brings her experience as an athlete and coach to her role as lead of the Te Hāpaitanga coaching programme in HPSNZ’s Performance Partnerships team.
Twenty years on from Athens, Jody’s excitement about her Olympic experience is contagious.
HPSNZ
Tell us about your Olympic experiences.
Jody
Quite simply it was the highlight of my career.
I remember seeing the LA Olympics on TV when I was eight. I stopped, watched and said I want to go to that one day.
While I’d targeted the 2000 Games, a combination of three young children and a dodgy ACL put paid to my goal that year. But I wanted it so much that I made everything fit around achieving my dream of going to an Olympics.
We were on tour for five weeks before the 2004 Games, playing and training often up to six hours a day. But arriving in Athens was so buzzy, almost impossible to describe.
HPSNZ
Of all the experiences, what was the most memorable one?
Jody
There were so many but I guess the experience of arriving in the Village was extraordinary. Getting off the bus, receiving a hongi, getting my greenstone and connecting with our other athletes on what I called ‘landing day’.
It was so special because you know you’ve done the work and you deserve to be there. And then you get to do it again as part of the welcome for the next lot of athletes arriving.
And Kiwi teams do Kiwi so well. Our athlete welcome and home in the village was something special, beautiful and very Kiwi. It is renowned throughout the Olympic family.
I have to share a second memorable experience. Sitting in the gymnasium waiting for the New Zealand team to march into the stadium. The Greeks used the Greek alphabet for the order which was obviously very different. When it was our turn my friend, the team captain, and I made sure we were on the outside of the group so we’d get picked up by the cameras – it worked because our families and friends back in New Zealand saw us marching in.
HPSNZ
Given what you know now, what, if anything, would you have done differently in your Olympic campaign?
Jody
On the whole I wouldn’t do anything much differently although I wish I had recorded my experience more. I didn’t write things down and took very few photos so I have to rely on my memory and the small amount of memorabilia I have such as my ticket to the Opening Ceremony.
HPSNZ
How does your experience as an Olympic athlete contribute and help you in your current role with HPSNZ?
Jody
My experience gives me an ability to see the perspective from the other side. I know what it takes and that helps me help coaches understand the challenges and rewards from an athlete’s viewpoint. I also think it helps me understand what’s good and what’s not having lived it as an athlete.
HPSNZ
If you were to give a current Olympic or Paralympic athlete one piece of advice for their Paris 2024 campaign, what would it be?
Jody
Enjoy every moment and don’t take it for granted because when you come away you only have your stories and your memories.
