Scholarship helps Millie chase pursuits on and off the court

A scholarship has made balancing study, work and playing for the Ballarat Miners easier for Millie Cracknell.

The 23-year-old, who is studying a master’s degree in speech pathology and has played more than 100 games for the Miners, is a recipient of Federation University’s Elite Athlete Scholarship.

“Now I’ve cut my work hours down to two days,” she said.

“Which has been really handy because studying and playing basketball and the training involved, it’s hard to apply yourself fully to all three aspects.”

Cracknell enjoys teaching children basketball through Aussie Hoops and during camps, which led her to study speech pathology.

“We have lots of little fans that come up and say, ‘You’re my favourite player,’ or take an interest,” she said.

“So I feel like I love having that impact on little kids’ lives.

“Then when I did the camps and that, I feel like they just build such good relationships with each other. I think that communication is the foundation of making those friendships, and they’re just so crucial to development and just being purposeful.”

Cracknell manages all of this despite having being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease two years ago.

“I get bad stomach cramps and everything, and I get really bad joint pain,” she said.

“It’s just the way it is. You have to live with it and manage it and try and let people know if you aren’t 100 per cent.”

A Ballarat Miner since she was 16, Cracknell reached her 100th game this season.

“I’ve been playing since I was quite young because they give locals a really good opportunity to develop through the program,” she said.

“But I would love to become more of a main player in that and just break in a little bit now that I’m getting older and just earn my spot.”

She said she was grateful for the financial support.

“I’m just really thankful for the people that contributed to my scholarship and that it’s made a big impact on me,” she said.