Raya's successful return after dedication to 'best ever rehab'

Anyone with less strength of character would have felt it was all too much, but Perth Redbacks co-captain Raya Thompson tackled another gruelling rehabilitation wanting it to be the best anyone can do which is why she's so thankful to be back in NBL1 West.

You don't always get happy endings in sport but for Thompson to be back playing after three serious knee injuries, and for it to coincide with the start of her teaching career at St Norbert's College, and it's fair to say 2023 is going a lot better for her than 2022.

If you go back a decade and Thompson was one of the most exciting emerging stars at the South West Slammers. She made her SBL debut in 2013 as a 15-year-old and was part of quite the exciting next generation at the Slammers alongside Georgia Denehey and Tayah Burrows.

Things were tracking nicely for Thompson until a horror run of knee injury began in 2018 and with three separate injuries since, it's not out of place to say it could have broken the spirit of someone without the willpower she possesses.

It started with a knee injury in 2018 more akin to a car accident than anything from a basketball court when she ruptured her ACL, tore her meniscus and partially her MCL, and it was almost a two-year process to get back onto the court.

In between, Thompson moved up to Perth to begin studying to be a teacher and joined the Perth Redbacks. But it wouldn’t be until the 2021 season that she was able to make it back on the court after a torn meniscus stopped her being able to play in the 2020 West Coast Classic.

Then being back on the floor was everything Thompson hoped it would be becoming part of a team that made it all the way to the preliminary final.

Then just as she was gearing up to continue the momentum coming into 2022, she was asked to play as a fill in for a local game while back home in Bunbury just before Christmas and tragedy struck.

She hurt her knee and ultimately found out she had ruptured her ACL once more and not only that, it took until May for her to be able to have the surgery and begin the rehab.

Best rehab anyone has ever done

You could understand if Thompson put it all in the too hard basket. Not only did she face a year-long rehab, but also a near six-month wait to even have the surgery and knowing that there was no prospect of playing at all in 2022.

However, rather than let it beat her, Thompson dedicated herself to the rehab and not only that, but to having the best rehabilitation anyone has ever had with the added bonus of having a physio of a boyfriend at home, Archie Hall.

"There was no option, I decided this was going to be the best rehab anyone has ever seen or anyone could do," Thompson said. 

"I wanted to come back in the shortest time frame and I almost prioritised my rehab over everything else in life like uni and work because it was so important to me to make a comeback and play again.

"It was all I really wanted to focus my time on and I found it really hard to focus time on anything else because I just wanted to be doing rehab to make sure I got back as strongly as I could."

The feeling of being back out on the court

The hard work and dedication that Thompson put into returning to basketball all became worthwhile when she hit the floor for the first time this season at the Redbacks against the Joondalup Wolves back on April 21.

She had beaten that 12-month return time from the surgery and it's a night she'll never forget.

"It's the best feeling to be back playing, it's all I could ask for. It's been a dream to make it back and that's all I could think about when I was going through the rehab," Thompson said.

"That first game I made it back for will be one of my favourite ever moments. Just the feeling of stepping on the court was amazing and hearing my teammates when I came on were amazing, the whole bench was so supportive. 

"All my family came, my extended family and friends, so to hear everyone being there and seeing everyone there to support me was honestly the best feeling. 

"I felt so supported that night all the way up before the game and after the game, and all the acknowledgement I received was amazing. It's the best day of the year and it will be forever a cherished memory."

Emotions of having another knee injury

Going back to that fateful day in December 2021 and Thompson tried to remain positive after hurting her knee, and didn’t allow her to think the worst and Archie tried to keep her upbeat too so to not ruin Christmas.

The pain was nothing like that horrific injury back in 2018 either and that kept Thompson hopeful, but the scans ultimately proved otherwise.

"I think it took a while to hit me because when it happened I automatically knew that I've done it before so I can do it again, and it will be all better and everything," she said.

"But it wasn’t until I was in the think of the rehab that I realised I'm going through the exact same pain of watching people play and missing out, and doing the same rehab program. 

"I was going through that whole tedious long journey again and when I was really in the thick of it that was really tough especially waiting for surgery for so long. 

"Then going through the exact same emotions, I think the second time around it was almost harder because I had done it before and was back here again doing the same thing."

More than 12 months again of not playing

As bad as it was knowing she had to go through another 12 months of rehab with the ruptured ACL to what she had thought was her good knee up to that point, waiting for the surgery is what even made it worse.

It meant that Thompson had to wait to begin the whole recovery process until May for an injury suffered back in December, but all she knew was how determined she was to get back to the basketball court.

"The waiting was a killer, that was the hardest part I would say because I just didn’t know when I was going to get my turn to have the surgery," Thompson said.

"That not knowing was extremely because it felt like my whole future and what lay ahead was relying on that. 

"Then the toughest part of going through the rehab stages after the stages was having the self-discipline to continue going through every session, every set and every rep, and everything I needed to do. 

"I had to keep myself accountable and I was really determined that I was going to do it without missing anything so I could come back even better and stronger."

Just being grateful to be playing again

You won't find anybody in the NBL1 West playing right now who is more thankful just to be out there than what Thompson is.

Her knees have tried their best to stop her from continuing her career, but she's defied the odds. That's why even if she is part of a team with just one for the season so far isn't ideal, and she isn’t happy with how she's performing, that all pales against the thought of not playing at all.

Thompson knows that her individual performances will only keep improving the more she plays and she's confident the Redbacks will be able to turn things back around after a tough last two seasons.

"I definitely am not performing as well as I would like to be, but I'm constantly reminding myself that all I wanted that whole time when I wasn’t playing was to just get back on the court playing," she said.

"I'm always grateful that I'm just able to be out there with a team of people that I really love where I'm doing what I love. It doesn’t really phase me too much if I'm not performing as well as I would like because I can now improve on that now that I'm back playing.

"I'm getting to do what I wanted to do for so long and have had it taken away from me for so long so I'm just cherishing every moment to be playing and training."

Support of the Redbacks organisation 

Thompson is also thankful for the Redbacks to the support they have provided her.

They initially signed her as she was still recovering from that initial injury that could have been career-ending, and having continued to back her in and even made her co-captain for the 2023 season despite knowing her start would be delayed.

"The Redbacks have stuck by me through the highs and lows of the whole journey. I entered when I was still coming back from an injury, then I stayed when I was still playing and then they kept supporting me when I went through this last injury," she said.

"To put that support and faith into me, and the whole way the journey has been all I could ask for from a club that I played for. 

"Just by backing me even by giving me a co-captain role while I was still coming back from an injury purely based on the fact that they appreciate my involvement in the team whether I'm on the court or not, is huge. It doesn’t go unnoticed."

Hopefully a smooth ride is to come

You could understand easily why Thompson is hoping for a bit of luck to go her way from here on in with her body to allow her to have a smooth ride in her basketball career.

Thompson has now played 118 games in the league dating back to the start of her career at the Slammers in 2013, and hopes she can rack up plenty more from here without too many interruptions.

"It's a huge goal of mine to rake up a lot of games now and to make a bit of a name for myself in this league,' Thompson said.

"I really hope to add onto my number of games now and hopefully can have a better run of it from here. Basketball is what I love to do and I feel most like myself when I'm playing basketball, and it's my favourite thing ever. 

"For me to just be able to continue to play, and be physically able and just enjoy running around on the court, that's the goal to be able to keep doing that now."

Changing goals after everything you've been through 

As one of the best young talents in the state who then started playing with the Slammers so young, Thompson couldn’t help but dream of where her basketball could take her.

However, after everything she's been through over the past five years, her focus now is just on having the best NBL1 West career she can from now and that'll be more than enough to satisfy her ambitions.

"When I was younger I definitely had sights of playing at a higher level and I always loved the challenge that basketball gave me, and I wanted to be better and better all the time," she said.

"I still have that competitive drive where I want to continue to be better, but even since that first comeback, my goal has been that I just want to be able to put in a good solid effort and time into NBL1. 

"I want to make a name for myself in this league and I'm not really worried too much about playing at a higher level or anything anymore. 

"I am just really happy playing at this level and I feel like there's lots of room for me to grow personally by doing that, and having the best NBL1 career I can will be a good place for me to end up. I would be really happy with that."

Finished uni, starting full-time work now

Not only has Thompson been able to successfully make it back onto the basketball court over the past couple of months, but after finishing her teaching degree at the end of 2022, she's now landed a full-time job.

After doing her prac work at St Norbert's, a position opened up only a few weeks ago which she's now leaped into and is embracing her new life of teaching science to teenagers.

"That was hard during rehab because I was also finishing by degree so I had to make choices on what I set my time on, but it's been so exciting," Thompson said. 

"I finished my teaching degree and I've now picked up a teaching job so I feel like I've got another component of my life. For a long time there I was purely just a basketballer and that was everything that I identified myself as.

"It still kinda is and it's a huge part, but it's nice now to be able to put myself into other areas and thrive in that as well.

"I'm really enjoying my new job that I'm only a few weeks into, but I'm loving the role that I have in teaching and I'm also trying to find other little things i can put my interest in, and find a passion for and not solely rely on basketball to bring me that."