Maddy Rocci’s ‘welcome to the WNBA’ moment happened on her first day in Toronto.
Barely able to believe she’d secured a training camp contract with expansion club Tempo, the Australian Opal lobbed at the practice facility with her training gear from home.
She needn’t have bothered.
“So I get to the court for my first individual training session and literally everything I needed – and even things that I didn’t need – from head-to-toe, was on my loop,” Rocci said.
“Honestly, I had no idea that’s what they do.
“So you have compression gear, training shorts, long sleeves, training singlet, headband if you wanted it, arm sleeves, socks, a pair of basketball shoes that they had given me.
“And then they wash it and then they bring it back the next day.
“I’m so not used to that – I take my uniform with me after every single game and I wash it myself.
“I was just like, ‘oh my gosh, these girls just live such a different life over there’.”
The three-time WNBL champion said she “grew as a player” in her two-and-a-half weeks in Toronto and her visit gave her an opportunity to perform in front of Opals coach Sandy Brondello, who is in charge of the Tempo.
While she did not make the final WNBA roster, at 28, she’s well-equipped to deal with disappointment.
A regular for the Opals in FIBA competition, the feisty point guard is yet to represent her country in a major tournament, having fallen agonisingly short of selection for the 2022 World Cup and 2024 Paris Olympics.
“The early times that I didn’t make teams hit much harder than it probably does now – It was like, ‘oh my gosh, my basketball career is over, I’m not good enough, they don’t see me’, those are the things that run through your mind in that moment,” Rocci said.
“But your mindset is something that, as you get older, you mature, and you just figure out ways to handle adversity, and that’s something that I’ve been through, over the past couple of years.
“I have definitely learned that you’re going to miss out on teams but it doesn’t define you as an athlete and you can never give up on yourself.”
Rocci, who, this off-season, swapped a Southside Melbourne jersey for Geelong Venom, is firmly in the mix for another shot at her dream of wearing the green and gold on the biggest stage.
Part of the Opals’ extended squad, the Wyndham junior will, this week, push her World Cup claims in a pair of clashes with China in Melbourne.
“You don’t realise how fast your career actually goes,” Rocci said.
“You think of the cycles and when the next Olympics is, and when the next major tournament is and it creeps up on you really quickly.
“I’ve done everything I possibly can, so I’ll continue to put my best foot forward.”
OPALS V CHINA
Tuesday, July 7, 5.30pm AEST, John Cain Arena, Melbourne
Thursday July 9, 5.30pm AEST, John Cain Arena, Melbourne
Watch both games on Kayo Sports and ESPN