A scholarship has made balancing study, work and playing for the Ballarat Miners easier for Millie Cracknell.<\/p>\n
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.<\/p>\n
“Now I’ve cut my work hours down to two days,” she said.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Cracknell enjoys teaching children basketball through Aussie Hoops and during camps, which led her to study speech pathology.<\/p>\n
“We have lots of little fans that come up and say, ‘You’re my favourite player,’ or take an interest,” she said.<\/p>\n
“So I feel like I love having that impact on little kids’ lives.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
Cracknell manages all of this despite having being diagnosed with Crohn’s disease two years ago.<\/p>\n
“I get bad stomach cramps and everything, and I get really bad joint pain,” she said.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
A Ballarat Miner since she was 16, Cracknell reached her 100th game this season.<\/p>\n
“I’ve been playing since I was quite young because they give locals a really good opportunity to develop through the program,” she said.<\/p>\n
“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.”<\/p>\n
She said she was grateful for the financial support.<\/p>\n
“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.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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 […]<\/p>\n