Laura Dally is doing what she can to make an impression with Basketball Canada, and enjoying life in the process.
The Northern Collegiate graduate is back in Canada for the summer after spending her first season playing professionally in Germany with the BG '89 Avides Hurricanes. The team is based out of the small village of Rotenburg, about an hour southwest of Hamburg.
In 12 games Dally averaged 12.1 points per game while shooting 41.5% from three point range. She enjoyed her first year of professional basketball so much she plans to head back to Germany in the fall.
"The town I lived in was quite small, but the league I played in was very good so I got to travel all over the country, we took the train a lot to games so it was a good chance to take in some of the sites," says Dally.
Since returning to Canada she has split time between visiting and Bright's Grove and Edmonton, where she has been straining with the Canadian National Team. She's taken part in two separate selection camps with the national team, one in France and Spain, and more recently she just returned from China. This as Canada trims the roster for the upcoming FIBA America's Women's Championship in August.
This is Dally's second summer training with the senior national team, she and says she's much more comfortable this time around.
Canada's Head Coach Lisa Thomaidis also coached Dally at the University of Saskatchewan, and Dally says that helped her get comfortable.
"When I went to senior camp last summer it was pretty nerve racking, it helped a lot having her there, knowing her system and what she likes, she's definitely one of my biggest role models," says Dally.
Dally transferred to the University of Saskatchewan after three seasons at Western University and says Thomaidis was a deciding factor.
"I knew I wanted to play in a different league, and make the most of my two years left of eligibility," she says. "I really wanted to play for Lisa, I knew it was a great program and I really connected with the girls on the team."
The move paid off in a big way, as Dally capped off her collegiate career the way every athlete hopes to, with a national championship. For obvious reasons, it's an experience she won't soon forget.
"It still doesn't feel real, you remember the hard times more than actually winning the championships, you remember those long practices and the hard work that got you there," says Dally. "It's something I'll definitely never forget, I'll be close with that group for a long time."
What made it all the more special, it was the first national championship in the program's history.
"They supported us so much, the whole community and the university, it was great to bringing them their first national title," says Dally.
Dally is quick to point out that her Sarnia routes have a lot to do with her recent success, and hopes to keep giving back to the community that has given her some much.
"I would love to, if I end up being here for a while I'd love to coach or do what I can to be a female role model, because I know that's what helped me get to where I am," she says.
There's been no shortage of basketball for her this summer. She says the summer selection camps are a bit of a process, and makes it hard to plan ahead not knowing if she'll end up on the final roster or not. She says taking life week by week is something she's come to terms with.
"As a new professional athlete it's something I've been slowly learning, I'm quite a planner but you never really know where you'll be month to month so I just try to enjoy it," says Dally.
She now heads back to Edmonton where she'll compete for a spot on Canada's roster for the FIBA Americas Women's Championship in Argentina in August.
