Teige Morrell finding the perfect balance in basketball

By Lachlan Everett for NBL1.com.au

Many NBL1 athletes have full-time jobs, but over in the NBL1 West, the Joondalup Wolves’ Teige Morrell is taking her commitment to the next level.

A star for the team, both on and off the court, Morrell is the club’s Brand & Marketing Coordinator and the team’s second-leading scorer.

Think about playing a full 40-minute basketball game, and then running to your laptop to post the final score of the game you just played. That is what Morrell does on a weekly basis, even after hitting a game-winning shot to continue the Wolves’ undefeated streak.

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“Straight after the game, even before I’ve changed out of my sweaty uniform I’ve got my laptop and our templates and post the full-time results and MVP graphics,” Morrell said. 

“Thank the Lord for Facebook scheduling, as at least I can get all our pregame content up before so I can keep my mind focused on the player job.” 

The 2021 NBL1 Central MVP admits it can be a tough balance between work and 'play'. 

“I opened up to (club CEO) Andrew [Summerville] about how it has been a little bit of struggle to balance the two [jobs]. He was really helpful and gave me a few ideas," Morrell said.

"I’m in the same building so there’s not that switch. I’m at my desk and then I walk to the locker room, put my shoes on… and then I’m at training. Sometimes at film sessions I still have work rolling over my head and we discussed how to make a better balance."

Morrell said that Summerlive helped put things in perspective.

"One thing I’ve implemented is actually walking out of the building and going to do something. I’ve also changed my routine so that my workout is between my marketing role and my basketball role, instead of being in the morning. It breaks up my shift at the office and on the court.”

As one of the stars of the team and at the same time actively marketing the best players to fans, it can be a delicate balance when there’s no barrier between the front office and the court. 

“I have to remind myself ‘what would you do if it was another player?’, at the end of the day I have to do my job, and yes that includes promoting myself. 

“I won’t lie, it sits in the back of my head and every time there’s something that involves me, often I think ‘how do I include the rest of the team in this?’.” 

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She says she does her best to balance the marketing and social media role with her teammates, she says they’ve been nothing but supportive and it has made it much easier to play with them and also promote them. 

 “The fact that they're just so supportive, I think it really helps even in this marketing role. I don't have to worry about what they're thinking of me as a marketing coordinator and  I don’t have to worry about if it’s going to impact our relationship on the court.

“I know, for a fact that A, they're so supportive of me as a teammate, and B, they are extremely supportive on the marketing side.”

Morrell’s marketing expertise comes from her degree in Journalism with an emphasis in visual design, and a minor in Sociology during her time with the University of Nevada. 

She was a collegiate star with the Nevada Wolf Pack, as she was selected for All-Mountain West Conference Team and was named the NCAA Mountain West 2018 Woman of the Year. 

Morrell has landed in a great situation to market, with the Women’s Joondalup Wolves boasting a 16-0 record and the Men’s side top three on the NBL1 West ladder.

You can catch Morrell play live this weekend as her Wolves take on the second-seeded Warwick Senators on Saturday, 5:00 pm AWST here. 

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