After running the floor with Camberwell Dragons 20.1 Girls team for the final time last Friday, Jasmine Chan-Clayton (#54) will fly to the United States next week to begin an exciting new chapter of her life – as a college basketball player for St. Joseph’s University in Brooklyn, New York. Before hitting the road, Jas took some time to reflect on her journey and her time at Camberwell for Dragons Media.
By Jasmine Chan-Clayton
Sometimes, the road to where you want to go isn’t always linear. At times it’s been hard – I got feedback from coaches I didn’t want, I got cut from teams I desperately wanted to make, and I even thought about quitting once or twice – but that road has led me to where I am today.
When I was around 10 years old, a coach told me I was too small, too slow, and could only do one thing (that’s a direct quote, by the way). I knew the world wasn’t going to end, but comments like that are pretty demoralising to hear at that age. But, at the same time, it also made me want to push harder – I wanted to see how far I could go if I put the work in. I started to practise in the mornings before school two or three times a week, just to see if I would improve. Believe me, the alarm going off at 5.30am sucked every single day, but I still did it.
Seven years later (and not at school any more), I still do the same thing, because I know what the benefits are.
Most days I was tired, some days I was late to school, but the whole routine started to become a part of my daily life, and my work started to pay off and translate into in-game improvements. I realised that my “one thing” could take me somewhere if I kept on practising.
I first came to Camberwell in 2019, joining in Under 14s. The thing I liked most about the club is that they didn’t care what I couldn’t do, or the teams that I hadn’t made – they only cared about the positives that I could bring to a team. They welcomed me in as an outsider, and it felt good. Some of the teammates I had in my very first Camberwell team are some of my close friends today. The Dragons have always felt like a family to me.
I’d always wondered what it would be like to play and study in America. In my Year 7 school journal, I had written down that I wanted to go to college in the US. The concept seemed very far away at the time, maybe even impossible, but I wanted to find out whether I could do it myself. The Dragons USA tour in 2022-23 gave me my first taste of playing in America, and I loved it. It became something to set my sights on, a more tangible goal, and drove me to practise harder.
Fast forward a year, and I’ve now gotten an opportunity to play and study in one of the most exciting and interesting cities in the world.
I’m still a kid who isn’t that tall, isn’t that fast, and isn’t that athletic. However, if you’re prepared to try and focus on getting better and pushing through the hard days, it’ll pay off eventually.
To my teammates who made it fun coming to every game and every training – thank you, and I’ll miss you heaps.
To the coaches who rightfully benched me for not playing defence (thanks, Glenn!), thank you for pushing me to take accountability and improve.
To the coaches who let me shoot objectively questionable threes – thank you for putting your trust in me and living with the results, both good and bad.
For every kid who wants to know where basketball can take them, the fact that I and several other Camberwell players are getting the opportunity to play in America after going through the Dragons junior program proves that anyone can do it, and it proves that you’re at the right place.
Thank you to Camberwell for everything, and thank you to AJ for letting me share my story.
Ed’s Note: Jas, on behalf of your Camberwell Basketball family, best wishes for next week’s move and for the challenges and exciting times ahead in the States. We look forward to following your progress from afar.
To read more about the women’s program at St. Joseph’s University and Bears Basketball, click HERE.
Home page photo: Jasmine Chan-Clayton (#54) and the Dragons 20.1 Girls team enjoy a big win at Diamond Valley last Friday.
Action photo: Craig Dingle, Melbourne Sports Photography.
