After two years out in the basketball wilderness, Bobby Tye is ready for redemption.
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The former Wagga Heat skipper pressed pause on his representative career after the heartbreak of successive finals exits in 2015 and 2016 but will front up for pre-season training a leaner and hungrier man after being named in John Norman’s senior squad on Wednesday.
“I had a good chat with the wife and said I’d give it a go if the body’s feeling good, so I dropped 15 kilos and I’ve still got a bit to go,” Tye said.
“I don’t reckon I’ve felt this good in seven years or so.”
Two years is a long break in sporting terms but Tye has no regrets and believes it’s helped restore his love of the game.
“Obviously I’d been playing for a fair few years and I don’t think I’d had time off sport since I was five or so, so I took a year off playing a bit of reserve footy with The Rock-Yerong Creek and then I took another year.
“I had a young bloke, my first child, last year and I just wanted to spend time with him and watch him grow up.
“It’s nice having that time on the weekends and give the body a rest too. I was starting to lose that passion for the game but now I’ve got that back and I’ve got that drive.”
The drive is clear to see and Tye has doubled down ahead of the pre-season grind, claiming he still has “five kilos to lose”.
The veteran point guard also admitted his strong relationship with Norman played in a hand in his return.
“I thin he’s a really good coach and he’s a big part of it for me too,” Tye said.
“He’s knows his stuff and can handle personalities within a side really well, so players like him and I think guys want to play for him.
“Me and Matt (Pearce) and my brother (Dom Tye) go a way back with him and I think he really brings passion to the side as well.”
Try as he might, Tye still can’t shake the sense of missed opportunities in the blue and orange strip and says there’s unfinished business to attend to.
2015 remains a sore point after falling to Sutherland in the division one Waratah League decider and the 28-year-old is ready to go one better in his Heat return.
“There’s plenty of reasons to play again and I’ve always wanted to play in front of my own family and be a role model but winning a championship is something I want too,” Tye said.
“We went so close back in 2015 and it ate away at me for a few years, to be honest.
So yeah, I want to be there playing for my family and to help the younger guys in the side, but there’s something else there.
I don’t know whether you’d call it redemption or unfinished business but I want to win.”
It’s early days but Tye likes what he’s seen at squad trials and believes the Heat have every chance of making an impact next season.
“There’s a bunch of really good young players there and lots of older and more experienced heads too – with the players we have, we can go well this season.”
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