On Friday 15 May ABC Sports journalist Nick Gill had a one-on-one chat on Friday with Saffron Shiels, who returned to her primary school, St Paul’s at Gateshead. Saffron has just been drafted to the WNBA to play for the new team, Toronto Tempo.
Saffron was at St Paul’s Gateshead visiting classrooms, taking part in a student-led podcast and even had some time to shoot some hoops with some of the students.
The 20-year-old spoke candidly about staying grounded through family support and protecting her love of basketball by not taking the sport “too seriously”, despite the growing public attention around her career.
Shiels encouraged St Paul’s students to dream big, embrace being different and work hard for their goals, while also admitting her fiercely competitive streak remains as strong as ever.
Listen to the interview here:
