Lisa Palombo

Who are you? What is your involvement in basketball?

My name’s Lisa Palombo and I am one of the coaches with Lady Rocks Basketball. I’ve been involved with Lady Rocks since 2005.

Why do you volunteer?

As a young person I adored sport and physical activity and would spend every minute I could, participating within my school PE department. If I wasn’t challenging someone to compete against me, I was leading or organising an activity that allowed me to play. I guess one of the reasons I volunteer now is because I’ve never forgotten the PE staff for giving me the opportunity to feed my passion for sport.  My early aspiration of becoming a PE teacher was born from this and I’ve always had a little feeling, deep in my heart, that one of my roles in life is to make sure that I also offer young people an opportunity to play sport.

I do feel a little bit of a fraud however, when using the term coach to describe myself.  I can’t quite compare to the other coaches within our club; they bring a wealth of first-hand experience of basketball that I don’t, but the interesting thing about sport is that we all have a role and bring different things to the table. Sometimes just being there is enough!

What motivates you to keep doing it?

What motivates me to continue is an easy question to answer; The Lady Rocks!

Our girls are amazing, and I mean as people! And amazing people bring superb attitudes, and that in itself motivates me. It’s the most rewarding feeling in the world, getting the chance to watch players progress and develop. Their progress genuinely catches my breath sometimes.

It’s a real privilege getting the chance to be involved in the life of our club.  When the people you surround yourself with make you work to be a better person, then you should keep going back!

Tell us about a female role model who has inspired you?

My female role model as a young girl would have been Steffi Graf. I was a tennis player and watching her dynamic style of play inspired me to spend hours, on my own, serving a ball to no-one or hitting a ball off a wall.  However, my true role model in life is my mum.  She had no personal interest in sport, yet always made sure I got to pursue my interests. I have a lot to thank my mum for.

She continues to support my sporting journey to this day and will always be my biggest inspiration in life- she’s just wonderful!