When Taylor Pettit (nee Skelton) returned to the Tamworth Thunderbolts last year, after a near three-year layoff, she relished the opportunity to focus on herself and her own game.
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This season, however, will see a return to the pre-COVID norm for Pettit, who was named the women's captain for 2024.
"Dave [McCubbin, Thunderbolts coach] did a voting system," Pettit said. "We voted on who got captain this year, so the team got a say."
Pettit had previously led the Thunderbolts during her initial stint with the team, but didn't expect to be the first-choice candidate this time around.
"Sometimes I can come across a bit headstrong, and some people don't like that," she said.
"So I was a little surprised that they were happy for me to lead them."
But Pettit's teammates made their opinion clear, and she is "very excited" to take on the captaincy once again.
In recent years, Pettit began work as a teacher's aid at Manilla Central School (where she also helped to revive the basketball program).
This experience helping instil knowledge and positive habits in kids, she believes, will translate positively to the captaincy, particularly with the Thunderbolts' relatively young and inexperienced squad.
"Being a leader, you need to put personal things aside and want to better the team and better people," Pettit said.
"Especially this year with the younger girls, I hope to not just improve their basketball but improve their self-confidence in general."
The timing of her re-instalment of captain was ideal.
After two years away from the sport playing AFL with the Tamworth Swans, Pettit said it was "kind of a relief" to come back just as a player in 2023.
But this year, she felt more prepared to take on the additional responsibility.
"When you're captain, there is a lot of pressure on and off the court," Pettit said.
"You want to make sure that the team's bonding well, and if there's problems, you've got to be the person they come to and you've got to come up with solutions. And when you're not performing, people turn to the coach and the captain.
"It was good to get back into the groove without the added pressure."
After a strong start in 2024 at the recent Port Macquarie Seaside Classic, Pettit said the team is eager to make an impact in this season's state league competition, which will feature four more teams than last year.
Last year, Pettit said, was "a learning curve" with a lot of girls who were new to the side. This year, she said, they know what to expect from the competition and each other.
With the addition of her lead-by-example captaincy style, Pettit believes the team can push for a spot in finals.
"I definitely like to lead with expectations," she said.
"I like to let people know what the expectation is for myself and for the team, and I like to lead by example. I definitely believe if I'm not doing it, I can't get upset with other players for not doing it.
"I like to make sure that I'm setting a standard in training and in games, and push people to reach that with me."
