Jody received the Coach of the Year award earlier in the evening for her successes on the sideline in 2023 but it is worth reflecting on the journey that sees what the young player from Whangarei receives this recognition tonight for.
After battling against her siblings in the back yard at home – imagine going up against Pero – Jody headed to Hamilton to complete her schooling at Church College. She was selected for the Junior Tall Ferns tours of Australia in 1993 and 1994 before debuting for the senior national team in 1996. Jody played at the 2004 Olympics in Athens and on the silver medal winning team at the 2006 Melbourne Commonwealth Games. In all she made 79 Appearances for the Tall Ferns – only 14 players have made more appearances in the black singlet.
After a 20 year playing career that saw her play on numerous national championship winning teams Jody took a short break to focus on family before cutting her “coaching teeth” in high school basketball initially at Westlake Girls High School and then St Mary’s College in Ponsonby. She also took on coaching commitments at North Harbour Basketball before, in 2018, undertaking the role of Women’s Basketball Development Officer at North Harbour Basketball – a position she held for 4 years.
Jody began coaching in the international arena 9 years ago when appointed Head Coach of the NZ team at the FIBA U16 Oceania Championships. Jody has been a national coach ever since and along the way completed a unique Commonwealth Games double when acting as Tall Ferns assistant coach at the 2018 Gold Coast Games having, as previously mentioned, played at the 2006 Games.
Since 2022 Jody has been the Te Hāpaitanga Lead for High Performance Sport NZ – a role that sees her elevating, lifting and empowering high performance female coaches.
Jody Cameron is the 2024 recipient of The Zena Gay Award for her notable contribution to women’s basketball.
