Women in Sport: Kristi in high Spirits

By Raelee Tuckerman
Updated November 7 2012 - 4:30am, first published February 21 2011 - 1:05am
FAMILY TIES: Kristi Harrower and her dad, Bendigo Spirit coach Bernie, share a quiet moment away from basketball. Picture: BRENDAN McCARTHY
FAMILY TIES: Kristi Harrower and her dad, Bendigo Spirit coach Bernie, share a quiet moment away from basketball. Picture: BRENDAN McCARTHY
CHAMPS: Kristi celebrates the 2006 world title with her Opal teammates.
CHAMPS: Kristi celebrates the 2006 world title with her Opal teammates.

FROM the moment she was born into one of Bendigo’s premiere basketball families, Kristi Harrower seemed destined for greatness.The toddler who always had a ball on the end of her hand grew into one of the best junior players in her age group, and eventually cemented her place as a member of the Opals’ starting five.Playing for her country, the 35-year-old point guard has won world senior and junior championships, three Olympic silver medals, and been a member of domestic and overseas-based teams that have won the WNBL, French league and EuroCup titles.Though she is now considered a veteran, Harrower continues to have an impact for the Australian team as well as the local Bendigo Spirit side of which she is also general manager.As Spirit heads into its third WNBL finals campaign, Harrower tells Women in Sport about her rock-solid relationship with coach-dad Bernie, the rewards and challenges of playing professionally on the other side of the globe, and her plans to retire and start a family.Q: Spirit has a chance to give things a real shake in the finals – that must be exciting.A: It is. We have got a young team (I am the oldest, by far). Tess Madgen is probably our best player this year and she is only 20, so there’s a bright future for our team if we can keep it together.But the likes of Canberra and Bulleen have got so much experience in these situations. We can only get better every time we make the finals and hopefully we have learnt from our last two finals losses, finishing fifth, that you really have to come ready to play and it’s a completely different ball game to regular season.Q: Has the addition of Tess and Chelsea Aubry to the roster taken some of the pressure off you to perform well?A: Even though people may look at me as an Olympian or leading the team, I’ve never felt that pressure because it is my job and it’s just what I do. You are human and some days you have good games and some days you have bad games.Last year I played exceptional basketball and I guess this year it’s been more frustrating because I haven’t played as well. I don’t know what to put it down to but maybe it’s that my husband and I are building right now as owner-builders and it takes up so much time, and I’m trying to work and be up here to train and play. The thing I like is that having Tess, Chelsea and players like them here is that I feel when I do walk away from the game, the club is in good hands.Q: What about the expectations that go with being Bernie’s daughter? Has it been a double-edged sword?A: Not at all. We have an inside joke at home that when I come back, I always take his limelight away from him! We are fine with one another and it come back to the fact my mum and dad have coached me all my career. Mum started when I was younger and he took over and has always been my coach. We both live and breathe basketball. There might be times where I snap at him on court in the heat of the moment, but when we go home there are no problems. We talk about the game and the good thing is that we play off one another and learn from one another. I have never felt that type of pressure. The pressure I feel is more the pressure I put on myself to succeed and play well every game.Q: Did you play other sport when you were young?A: The only other thing I did was play a bit of netball. The mother of one of my close friends really tried to get me into netball. I tried out for a state team and didn’t make it. But basketball was always in our family, in our blood, and I am glad I continued along those lines because you get to go to the Olympics if you are good enough.Q: Would it be fair to say that if you played at any WNBL club other than Spirit, you could virtually name your price?A: You probably could say that. I know there are some players out there and some money around. Dandenong has a lot of money and Canberra has, too.I probably could, but you know, I have always been a Victorian girl. I had one year in Adelaide after the Australian Institute of Sport and it wasn’t a great experience for me.I look back now and I am glad it happened because you really learn from those situations and you grow up a lot from those situations.Q: What exactly was the problem?A: To be honest, it’s funny to say, but me and (then Adelaide coach) Jan Stirling didn’t get along at that time. Then she became the Australian coach and everything was completely different and we had a good relationship.A lot of it was probably me, too, being young and a bit immature. I think I struggled a lot first year out of the AIS – I didn’t have a job and I had some problems with contract negotiations. But I was lucky enough to win my only WNBL championship with that team so not all was bad.There were some really good memories. I got to play with the likes of Rachael Sporn and made great friends with Carla Boyd and Jo Hill (all fellow Olympians). But I think I was a real Victorian girl… still am.Q: How has growing up in Bendigo influenced your career?A: The great thing about Bendigo is that it’s a small town and really close community. I have been lucky enough to have a lot of people support me along the way and follow my career – even people I don’t know. You get lots of messages when you are at the Olympics and there is always that long lost cousin who pops up!Q: You are probably the most recognisable sportswoman in town, how do you deal with that?A: You have a joke with people and say hello. I have always wanted to be remembered as being down to earth and lovely to speak to, but it’s probably not great coming up to me after the loss of a game.When I am in Bendigo and feel like some junk food or something like that, I won’t have it here. I know people are probably watching and you want to be a role model and you don’t want people saying “I saw Kristi Harrower and she was eating McDonalds” or something like that. In Melbourne it’s not so bad because nobody knows who I am.Q: What about when you played in the US?A: In the WNBA, the fans love you and will do anything for you and want to be with you, but walking around town people don’t know who you are unless you are wearing your gear. If it was someone like Lauren Jackson or Diana Taurasi it would be different, but I was never a superstar over there, I was just another player.Q: How hard is it playing somewhere where you don’t speak the language, like Russia?A: I went to Russia with the coach I had in France, who doesn’t speak much English, so he would speak French and after five years I understood a lot of basketball French. It was really hard – he would speak French and the translators would translate French to Russian and then Russian to English, so it was a long pre-game talk!Usually there are different nationalities in team so there are always players who speak English, especially the European girls who pick it up so well.Dad said when I came home I spoke very slowly and spoke a lot with my hands. Because I was the point guard and you only get five or 10 seconds to speak in the huddle, if people didn’t understand me I had to make an action or say one word in French that I knew.It sounds like quite an experience…A: In Russia, it is just another world. The clubs are so rich that we had our own plane, so we chartered everywhere. Every player had their own individual translator and we each had our own driver.As a player, you do nothing over there. Your translator does it all for you. If I want my phone charged, she’d go charge it and I give her the money and she does it for me. They cook you lunch every day … it was just amazing.Q: What is the biggest challenge about playing overseas?A: The hardest thing is being away from family and friends, like Aaron (Willoughby) who was then my boyfriend and is now my husband. There is a lot you have to sacrifice. We got married four days after the 2006 world championships and then I left a week later and was away for eight months. In that time, he only came over for four weeks. The thing that keeps you going is that I really enjoyed it in France and my last two years there I probably played my best basketball.And then there is the pay cheque… that’s the reason you go back because the money is so good you can set yourself up for the future.Q: Does working as Spirit general manager give you a different perspective of the sport?A: Definitely. To run a national basketball club there are so many things you need to know on the other side of the court – how to approach sponsors, networking, etc.I always thought the sponsorship side of things would be easy for us because we are the only national side in Bendigo, but I have now worked out that every sporting club and charity is after the same business here for money.We are getting better and I enjoy the admin side of things. I wish I could do more on game day, but I can’t because I am out on the court.Q: Did you have to fight to prove yourself early in your career?A: When I got to seniors, I had to prove to everybody that I was good enough and prove I could be in the Australian team and could be the next point guard. It was a lot of hard work to get there and it wasn’t easy. I think that’s what the younger generation need to realise – you can’t just have things handed to you. If you want something, you have to work your butt off. That’s what I did but I had the dedication to do it because I wanted it badly.Q: Will you to hand over your torch to future Opals point guards easily?A: Not at all, because nothing was ever handed to me easily. The good thing is that I can teach the younger group coming through because I am almost finished anyway. If it means some games they play better than me, then that’s just the way it is, if that’s what it takes to win a gold medal.It would be different if I was in the middle of the pack and I was 30 and they were 23. I know it’s not nice to say, but you wouldn’t give them anything of your experience because it’s all about trying to hold down your position. Now I am at this age, I am happy to teach them.Q: Will 2012 and the London Olympics be your swansong?A: I would like to walk away next year, but you just never know. It’s all about wanting to have a family and sometimes women can’t get pregnant. If that happened, I might continue on. But I need to start thinking of my husband and being with him a bit more often. We’ve been together 12 years and (spent much of those) 12 years apart.I will definitely make the decision next year. I am probably saying it more now because I am not having a very good season and it’s been frustrating with my injuries but in six or 12 months, things could change.Q: What are the immediate plans?A: After this season, I need to make sure I get my body right with injuries and take some time out away from the game and concentrate on work.Then I need to get myself back into great shape because I don’t want to just go to London thinking it’s my last Olympics, I just want to be there.If I’m going to go, I want to be in the same shape I have been in the last three Olympics and be able to do exactly what I have done at them.Q: You have reinjured the knee that was reconstructed years ago and also have a crook shoulder. How is the body holding up?A: With my knee, I think I have some floating cartilage at the back and a lot of wear and tear behind the kneecap.The shoulder hasn’t had time to settle down (since an opponent landed on it in November). I still get sharp pains and have trouble sleeping on it, though it’s more the neck and collarbone area. Now I have the knee, my Achilles is starting to hurt and it’s just one thing after another.Even trying to warm up can be hard. It makes you feel old!Q: Do you have any coaching aspirations?A: I would like to start somewhere as assistant coach and maybe go on to be head coach of more like a WNBL team. It would be nice to work with that age group with my experience and way I see the game and study the game. Trying to tell little kids to seal inside might be a bit hard for them to understand!Q: What has been your highlight?A: Even though we didn’t win gold, it was the 2000 Olympics, my first, in my home country with my family and friends sitting in the crowd.When we walked out for the opening ceremony, we were the last ones called out and the whole stadium was full of Australians. As we came through the tunnel, it brought a tear to my eye because it hit home that all the hard work I had done for years I had finally made it there.Also the senior world championship win was a special moment.Q: Lowlight?A: Missing a medal at last year’s world championships. It was something the Opals in my era had never experienced. I had been lucky enough that every major championship I had been to, I had medalled. This was unfamiliar territory for everyone and we were all devastated.Q: Any other special memories?A: I met actress Halle Berry twice.That year in LA was quite special, even though I didn’t play great. Off the court I got to meet a lot of superstars, including Snoop Dogg and Magic Johnson.My wedding day was special, too, as was having my family involved in my whole career and having my parents at every major tournament I have played in.Describe yourself as a player…A: I reckon I have a little bit of white line fever. I am someone who studies the game and can understand the ins and outs of it, what offence to run for somebody, what tempo to be at. I am also very, very competitive and determined to get a win. I hate losing … even at training.Q: How do you relax off the court?A: I love watching DVDs, TV boxed sets. I have a few favourites – One Tree Hill, Greys Anatomy, Brothers and Sisters, and 24. A lot of people download them but me, old fashioned, still have a little DVD player. If you have a laptop, it will last two hours but my DVD has two batteries and can last up to 10 hours so that’s why I do it the old-fashioned way, not watch it on an iPod.I like just being with my husband too. I don’t get a lot of time to do that so it is special when I can.Q: Any pets?A: Two dogs – blue heeler crosses, both girls, Nugget and Roxy. Every time I walk through the door and they are inside, even if I have had a bad training session, they bring a big smile to my face. They are like my kids – I love taking them to the park. Love them to death.Q: Do you follow the footy?A: I love AFL. Dad and I follow Richmond and mum and my sister are Geelong. I love watching Geelong play, especially the last few years being a country team and having Gary Ablett there and being so successful. It’s funny now, I love watching any Victorian team but I hate watching the interstate teams.Q: What will Kristi Harrower be doing in 5-10 years from now?A: In an ideal world, hopefully I’ll have two kids, both healthy. Hopefully Spirit will still be around and I’ll be involved in some way, but I’d like to be a mother having a normal life, putting the kids to bed at 7.30pm instead of having to rush off to training.Q: How would you like to be remembered?A: As one of the smartest point guards Australia has had – someone who was gritty and determined and did all the hard work to get where she got to.


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