Silver Ferns shooting ace Donna Loffhagen is not finished with basketball just yet, even though it is only a matter of weeks until she changes codes for the world netball championships.
To the consternation of Silver Ferns coach Yvonne Willering, double international Loffhagen put a basketball trip to Taiwan ahead
of a netball camp.
"It was an awesome trip," Loffhagen said of the basketball tour, where the New Zealand women finished runners-up to the hosts in the William Jones Cup. "I really enjoyed it and think it was worthwhile."
Loffhagen, a key member of the Silver Ferns' world title aspirations, was relaxed about missing the first of three netball training camps leading into the sport's most important event on the international calendar, in Christchurch next month.
Twenty-four hours after arriving back home on Wednesday, Invercargill-based Loffhagen was getting back into the netball groove, helping the Southland men's team against the women's team who will attend the national championships later this month.
She will continue to mix-and-match and roam between the two, hoping to attend basketball's national championships on August 14 and 15 before netball and the last two camps become the primary focus.
Loffhagen has an equal affection for both sports, hoping to achieve the dual goal of competing at this year's world netball championships and next year's basketball competition at the Sydney Olympics.
She has no problems switching from one to the other. "I haven't done anything stupid yet," she said.
"I haven't dribbled the ball in netball but I have done a lay-up but that's about as far as I take it."
The double international has no regrets about missing last weekend's camp.
"I have no regrets at all. We've got plenty more camps so I think I"ll be pretty sweet," she said.
"And I'm not injured, which was the main reason why she [Willering] didn't want me to go.
"I can see her side of it and if I had got injured it wouldn't have been great timing."
Silver Ferns captain Belinda Colling was unavailable for the basketball trip. - NZPA
