The B. Braun Sheffield Hatters are a British Basketball institution.
Founded over 60 years ago by the legendary Betty Codona OBE, this is a club filled with trailblazers and icons in equal measure, and Georgia Gayle is the latest in a long line of her family to represent the club’s legacy with distinction.
Today she is one of four Hatters represented in the Women’s North roster – alongside Vanessa Ellis who will coach the team and the playing duo of Emma Eichmeyer and Madison Washington. We caught up with the British sharpshooter ahead of her game today:
“I’m really excited to be a part of the All-Star Game, especially with it being the first one the League has had,” Gayle said.
“It’s great for us to have an event like this in the Women’s game and I’m looking forward to playing with some familiar faces and some new players that I’ve not been on the team with before. I think it’ll be competitive and a really great event.
“I pretty much had a basketball in my hand as soon as I came out of the womb. My mum was playing when she was pregnant, and when I was a little kid I’d be on the sidelines at practice when she was coaching – I started to play competitively when I was eight.
“I actually started playing in the Under-14s league at that age and I remember being so tiny that my mum had to roll up my shorts and tape kit around my shoulders and things like that. It was in Stockport and I came on for the last few minutes but got flattened by someone on the other team and started crying, so I didn’t last long in that game!”
The reluctant hooper
It is not an exaggeration to say that Gayle is the latest in several generations of her family who have sampled basketball at the highest level, either as players, coaches or in both disciplines.
With that in mind, as the 26-year-old alluded to earlier, it seemed inevitable that the Great Britain international would step into the ‘family business’ at some point, but the University of Central Florida alum discussed how reluctant she was to pursue basketball initially.
“Considering how big basketball is for my family, I tried really hard not to play the game when I was growing up, because I just got fed up of hearing about it all the time to be honest. It is what the whole family does in some way and my mum was my coach, but with everybody telling me how good I could be at it that it just put me off committing to it.
“I wanted to ride horses when I was a kid, right up until I was around 16. I also think because I was a teenager I was in that rebellious phase and I just didn’t want to listen to other people trying to tell me what to do, but eventually I did go all-in for basketball.
“I remember playing in a Women’s Division Two game aged 16 and having 45 points as by far the youngest player on the court. That was when I saw how good I could be and that I had some sort of talent that could give me the opportunity to play in the States and be professional, so I gave it my best shot from then and here I am.”
Building her own legacy
A star player for the Hatters and long-since established as one of the leading talents in the League, Gayle is now building her own legacy on and off the court as she has recently taken the step into coaching players in the club’s Junior programmes.
With her best years still ahead of her as a player, the sharpshooter still has plenty of time to perfect her coaching craft before pursuing her aspirations of having a full-time career in the space, but admits the prospect of inspiring young players is something that drives her.
“The family does have a big legacy and I enjoy representing that, but more so because I can use this role to inspire the next generation of players – especially my Under-16s team that I coach here in Sheffield – which is what fuels me every day. I could play elsewhere but I don’t want to leave what I have here behind as it’s very important to me.
“I get to do a lot of work in the community in my role with the Hatters, having the opportunity to give back and set an example, and I’m proud to be able to do that. There will be four of us from the club in the North team and it’s great for Hatters to have that and show our Junior players and anybody wanting to follow in our footsteps what is possible.
“I always thought I would come back to Sheffield after going to the States because this is just home for me. I’d love to pursue coaching in the future and reach the NCAA level. I know how difficult that is going to be, but I’ve started the journey by coaching here with the Hatters and I’m excited to see where it takes me.”
Get your tickets to support Georgia and all of the players in the first-ever Women’s British Basketball League All-Star Game this weekend at the Copper Box by clicking here.