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ROCKINGHAM
BASKETBALL
Sami Whitcomb
A day in the Life of Sami Whitcomb - WNBA Season
Hey Rocko fans! It’s Sami Whitcomb checking in after returning from my 8th WNBA season, my 6th with the Seattle Storm who I played for most recently!
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But, before I get into all that, I wanted to say congrats to the women’s program for capturing another NBL1 title! How exciting! I was fortunate enough to play 5 games with that exceptional group earlier this season, so I am not at all surprised they took home the hardware in the end - they were special!
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But now that I am back, I wanted to take a moment to share some stories and provide a little behind the scenes on what a typical “day in the life” looks like for a WNBA player, or at least this one. I hope you enjoy and continue to pursue your basketball dreams, whatever they may be!
Let me start by saying, we play A LOT of games in a season and sometimes that means we don’t have a lot of down time or even time to practice properly. So, some days are filled with just watching film or getting treatment if you have a niggle, or just recovering all together by lying in bed and watching or Normatec boots. However, I thought it would be more interesting to walk you through the bigger day that
included all the trainings and everything in between. I should also note that I have two boys and a partner that share this experience with me, so we are busier than most.
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I usually start my day pretty early, around 6-6:30 with a walk to the coffee shop and then to the kid’s playground just next to it. The boys play and my partner and I sip our coffee. It’s a nice way to start what will ultimately be a very busy day!
After I eat breakfast and change for the day, I am off! I get to our practice facility around 7:30 and I like to start my workouts with some Pilates! We have a few reformer machines, and this gets my body prepped for the day. Then, I lift heavy weights. This is a really important part of my routine - I love lifting and it has really helped me throughout my 14 years or so of playing professionally.
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After this, I jump on court for what we call an “Indi” which just means an individual workout with the coaches to work on skills and get up shots. I usually get up around 300 shots which is really important for me as well. I have a little break now before the team meets so I usually watch a little bit of individual film with my position coach to review a recent game or an upcoming opponent, anything to help me prepare and improve! Normally the film clips are both positive and constructive criticism, so I can identify ways to improve and keep doing the right things right!
Finally, it’s team practice time! We start in our locker room with a meeting, usually some film and review of what is ahead and what we want to get out of training that day. A typical practice day when we don’t have a game the next day is about 2 hours. We have guys that come in and train against us to help us get better and prepare for whatever team we play next. It’s so helpful having those trainings guys there to compete against!
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Once practice is over, there is time to get some additional shots up with a teammate or coach while we are tired. After practice, depending on the day and how much time I got on court, I like to jump in our lap pool and do some top up conditioning that is a little less strenuous on the body.
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As a player that doesn't start and sometimes plays limited minutes sometimes gets limited time on court in practice, it's important for me to still maintain my fitness and be ready to play whatever minutes are needed and swimming helps me stay fit.
Now, I can recover. We are super lucky in Seattle and have the best facilities and resources, so after a long day of training I can jump in the ice bath, hot tub, steam room or sauna for all the recovery I need! As well as get a massage from our team masseurs. The team also provides us with catered food following our trainings which is an incredible luxury. That last thing I want to do is cook after all that, but I am starving so it’s so nice to have food ready! Once I eat, I head home to my family and get to spend the rest of the day exploring the city or hanging at home with them.
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Seattle is such a cool city with lots to do outdoors in the summer, lots of other sporting teams to support and a lot of bodies of water to splash around in! So, when I’m not in the gym or travelling for a game, you can usually find me enjoying the outdoors with my family!
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Anyways, I hope you enjoyed a little glimpse at life in the WNBA! It can be full on, but it takes a big commitment to be a professional in any sport. If that is your dream, you can start building great habits now that can help get you there!
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If I can do it, YOU can do it.
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Go Rocko!
