Trisha “Trish” Nicole Fallon was born July 23rd, 1972 in Melbourne, Victoria.She first started playing basketball at the age of thirteen with the local YMCA in Geelong where her mother worked. She joined a mixed Under 14 competition team and was immediately hooked onto the game of basketball. However there was still another matter to be resolved and that was her tennis career.
Her mother, father and her older brother and sister all played tennis, so tennis was a family affair. As an Under 12, Trish was ranked number nine in Australia in tennis. She would soon have to make a big decision between basketball and tennis.
Trish was selected into the Victorian Metro McDonald’s Basketball Development Squad and travelled to Melbourne each Friday afternoon. She loved the training (and getting out of maths on Friday’s) and soon basketball overtook tennis as her choice. Trish also admits that at this stage she was frustrated with tennis at times. “I threw the odd tantrum resulting in mum pulling me out of a match. Who would have thought?” asks Trish tongue in cheek.
Trish soon represented Geelong in basketball. Her basketball developed rapidly under excellent coaches such as Geoff Saunders (ex Geelong Cats AFL player). Trish felt she could relate and communicate with these coaches as well as learn the skills and fundamentals she needed to catch up with the other players who had been playing basketball longer than she had. This particularly applied to Geoff’s insistence that Trish shoot a jump-shot, like a boy, even though the prospect of being “different to the other girls” was daunting to her.
The Women’s National Basketball League (WNBL) Grand-Final was played at the Geelong Arena in 1986 and it was there that Trish made the decision that basketball and jump-shooting was what she wanted to excel at. “At the Grand Final I saw Sandy Brondello of the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS)....my future team-mate....she stood out because she was the only one on court who had developed a great jump-shot...just like the men!” recalls Trish.
Ray Tomlinson Olympian and National Junior Women’s Team coach recruited Trish to his Melbourne Tigers Club shortly after. “What a turn for me at Under’16’s to have a National Team coach teaching me every week. It was Ray that eventually got me a trial at the AIS which I am ever so grateful for.”
“The three years at the AIS proved crucial in my development due to my starting so late I had a lot of catching up to do,” says Trish. “Thankfully all my coaches at the AIS saw potential in me that I clearly did not see. Phil Brown (Head Coach) was very patient with me and many hours were spent developing my game on an individual level and also at a team level preparing me to compete in the WNBL. I strongly believe without those three years at the AIS I would not have achieved what I did,” says Trish.
Trish went on to play in the WNBL for the AIS for three years (1989 to 1991), the Melbourne Tigers (1992) and the Sydney Flames (1993-1997).
In all she played 251 games in the WNBL and won two Championships with Sydney in 1993 and 1997. Trish was the 1990 WNBL Rookie of the Year, 1991 WNBL Youth Player of the Year, a member of the All Star Five on three occasions (1997, 1999/2000, 2004/2005 seasons) and joint WNBL Most Valuable Player (MVP) in the 1999/2000 season.
Her first national representation occurred in 1990 when Trish was selected on the Australian Youth Team for a twelve match tour to the USA.
Trish was first selected to the Australian Women’s Basketball Team in 1991 for a series of matches in Australia against the USSR, China and Korea. This was followed by a twelve match tour with the National Team to the USA at the end of the year. Although only new to the Australian Team Trish was determined to play at the 1992 Barcelona Olympic Games. After a series in Australia against the Chinese National Team, Trish was named to her first Australian Women’s Basketball Olympic Team. She was twenty years of age. However the Australian Teamstill had the task of qualifying for the Games. The team played a game in Italy and then arrived in Vigo, Spain for the 1992 Olympic Games Qualification Tournament. The team and Trish played very well and with two games to go in the tournament had not lost a game. Unfortunately they lost their last two games (one against Brazil in overtime) and finished in equal place with Brazil who went on to Barcelona on percentages while the Opals were eliminated.
“It was devastating,” recalls Trish. “Barcelona was difficult as this was the last Olympic campaign for a number of players that year and for the team it was important to get through to Finals more so for them...... to help them finish stellar careers on a high.”
Trish would have to wait another four years and aim for selection to the 1996 AtlantaOlympic Games.
In 1993 she played for the Australian Team in series against the Ukraine, Athletes in Action-USA, and then on a nine match tour to China.
In 1994 Trish was named to the National Team (now called the Opals) to play in the World Championships which were held in Australia. Leading into the tournament Trish played for the Opals in a series against Japan, Russia and Bulgaria. She then played with the Opals in the Pre-OZ94 Games and the 1994 World Championships. The Opals played remarkably well and were an unlucky 4th in the World Championships tournament.
In that same year (1994) Trish played a season in the German League with Wemex, Berlin. She was gaining that extra experience and exposure to lead her to Olympic selection. In 1995 Trish played for the Opals against China and then toured Europe for five games.
In 1996 Trish was selected as a member of the Opals team to contest the 1996 Atlanta Olympic Games. The Opals played in the World Basketball Challenge and then in two pre-Olympic Tournaments (in Canada and the USA) before arriving in Atlanta. The Opals played stunning and heart-stopping basketball and fought their way through to the medal games and defeated the Ukraine to win the Bronze Medal. The Opals and Trish played great basketball and fully deserved their Bronze Medal.
Trish recalls, “Atlanta was so successful because it was our first ever Olympic medal. For the team it was like wining Gold. We....and I.....are part of history. We had a huge group of family and friends join us in Atlanta which made for some entertaining moments. The highlight was the boyfriends and husbands dressing up in bodysuits, with wigs and war paint at all our games which drew as much attention from the media and the public as did our games! Their presence provided us with strong support throughout these games.”
In 1997 Trish played for the Opals against Japan and Russia, and on the Opals team that won the Oceania 1998 World Championships Qualification Tournament. She played four games for the Opals against China in 1998. Trish did not play on the Opals team for the 1998 World Championships in Germany where the Opals won a Bronze Medal.
The Sydney 2000Olympic Games were looming and Trish was determined to make the Opals team for the Olympics.
In 1999 Trish played for the Opals against Cuba, then in the US Olympic Cup and in the USA Invitational.
In 2000 things really got busy for Trish with games for the Opals against Russia and then in the Olympic Test Event. Trish was chosen for the Opals team to play in Sydney 2000. They did not have to qualify as they were the host country. The Opals played against Canada (Goldmark Cup) in Australia and then had a short tour to Europe with games in France and Poland. Returning to Australia the Opals played New Zealand, in the C7 Challenge, and against the USA and Brazil shortly before the Olympic Games.
The Sydney 2000 Olympic Games were seen by the Opalsas the best opportunity in their history to win an Olympic Gold Medal. The Opals went undefeated through the tournament until the Final. They played brilliant basketball and had won a Silver Medal. Trish’s best game was thirteen points against Brazil in the Opals 81-71 victory.
Trish sums the Games up. “Sydney for obvious reasons was the most enjoyable Games I played in. Playing in front of our home crowd andon our home floor in our country was a great thrill. Family and friends celebrated with us with our first ever Silver Medal. Though it was disappointing the way we played in the Final, again we had made history!”
Trish Fallon was a magnificent athlete. Her speed up and down the court and ability to play most positions made her an asset to any team. She had developed “that boys jump-shot” and was one of the best medium range shooters in Australia. Her athleticism made her an excellent rebounder and defender. She also possessed that will to win and the leadership qualities that eventually led her to captaining her country.
In 2000 Trish played a season with the Minnesota Linx in the US Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) the world’s premier Club competition. In 2001 she played in the WNBA for the Phoenix Mercury.
“I have mixed emotions about playing in the WNBA. I wanted this opportunity to play against the world’s best players in the world’s best League. My year in Minnesota certainly didn’t develop my game much due to limited minutes on the court. But the overall experience of playing in the huge stadiums in front of thousands of spectators made the move worthwhile. The season at Minnesota made me stronger by learning to adapt to a totally different coaching style I had never come across.
I did take a few things with me that I learnt from the coach which I applied to my game from there on. The ability to play defensively with more physicality - without fouling was a big one for me.”
She recalls, “Phoenix was a better experience. I had Cynthia Cooper as my Coach, who herself struggled with the transition from player to Head Coach. But she did let me play my game which resulted in a great individual season for me. After the season with Phoenix and playing all year round,and with a family,it all became quite hard so I decided that season would be the end of my WNBA career.”
Trish missed selection for the Opals for the 2002 World Championship which were held in China where the Opals won a Bronze Medal.
Now in the veterans’ class Trish was enjoying playing in the best competitions in Europe.
In the 2001/2002 season she played for SchioFamilia in Italy, and followed this with RosCasera, Valencia in Spain from 2002 to 2005. At Valencia she was on the teams that won the Spanish Cup and Super Cup double.
She recalls, “I really enjoyed my time in Europe. It helped develop my game to another level. The more physical style of game in Europe assisted me in developing a resistance to this style, which in turn helped me when it came to representing Australia. You learned to cope with excessive amounts of training, lack of medical staff, playing in two Leagues (local and Euro) each week and the pressure of being an import. I believe my game improved considerably whilst playing in Europe”.
In 2004 Trish was selected as the Opals Captain for the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. She was now 32 years of age and a true veteran and sa very important part of the team.
“Athens was going to be my last Olympics so I really wanted to go out with a bang. I truly believed a Gold Medal by the Opals was achievable and this was our team goal. We went through the Games undefeated until the Gold Medal play off. We lost to the USA but our Silver Medal again showed the world that we are truly a dominant force in women’s basketball. It was a true honor to be named Captain and it was a great way to be recognized at the end of my Olympic campaign,” says Trish.
Trish sums up her three Olympic Games. “My opportunity to play at three Olympics left me with many memories. These vivid memories mean more to me than the medals we were presented with. The medal is a result of all that we did in the preparation and during the games. All my memories resulted in the medal at the end, but it’s the journey to that point of standing on the dais being presented with the medal that is most important to me.”
Trish Fallon played 224 games for Australia and won a Bronze Medal (1996), and two Silver Medals (2000, 2004) at Olympic Games She captained her country at an Olympics (2004) and won a Bronze Medal at the World Championships in 1994. She was the 2003 Basketball Australia International Player of the Year, Co-MVP of the WNBL in the 1999/00 season and selected in the WNBL 25th Anniversary Team.
She was a very special player for her country and will be remembered as one of the greats of the game in her era.
Trisha Fallon was inducted into the Basketball Australia Hall of Fame in 2010 and the Basketball NSW Hall of Fame in 2011.