Grit, gratitude and good nutrition

Grit, gratitude and good nutrition. Kristy Wallace is preparing for her debut season with the Tokomanawa Queens. Kristy has made her mark in the WNBL in Australia, as well as at the Olympics and in the WNBA in the US, where she played alongside Caitlin Clark at the Indiana Fever, the world’s most high profile player in women’s basketball today.

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Q: Kristy, where did your basketball journey begin, and what led you to the Tokomanawa Queens?

I started playing basketball when I was five. I tried all sorts of sports as a kid, but it wasn’t until high school that I narrowed it down and started to focus on basketball. I loved the community and the team culture, and it gave me a great way of channelling my competitive nature. Since then, I’ve been lucky to travel the world thanks to basketball, and now I get the chance to be in yet another location playing the sport I love for a great organisation.
The Queens have developed a strong reputation in the basketball community here in New Zealand, in a relatively short period of time. They have amazing
people backing them who genuinely care about their players and, as a result, they have developed a strong culture that has served them well in terms of their results over the first three years of the Tauihi women’s professional basketball league. It’s the kind of environment I’m proud to be part of.

Q: What’s been the biggest challenge in your career to date, and how did you work through it?

Being unable to play competitively for more than three years due to an ACL injury as well as some other injury setbacks was hard. I’d just started my professional career and was giving it everything, but realistically my body wasn’t ready to manage the sort of workload I was asking it to take on. It felt like I was constantly trying to get healthy. I’d had such a clear path in front of me and was focused on being the best basketball player I could be, and then suddenly it was all taken away from me. It was confronting, but it helped me to re-set my priorities and figure out what really matters and who I wanted to be as a player and as a person. That period felt overwhelming at the time but, looking back now, I realise it was just one chapter in a much bigger story.

Q: Given those tough times, how has your approach to the game evolved over the years?

It has changed a lot. When I was younger, it was all about being the best, training non-stop, and not taking any recovery into account. But post-injury,
it had to shift. Now I focus on my overall wellbeing. That includes recognizing the importance of sleep and nutrition, as well as my mental health. I still want to compete and perform at my best in every game, but I guess I have a bit more perspective on things now. That means I am a little less worried about the final result and more focused on the team, how we work together and how we can continuously improve. I feel lucky just to be out there. There have been a lot of great players who have had to end their careers prematurely due to injury, so I don’t take a second for granted.

Q: What role did nutrition play during your recovery, and how important is it to your performance now that you're back on the court?

Nutrition played a huge role. It was during that period that I began to really appreciate how important diet is to how our body functions and recovers. I worked with a nutritionist to make sure I was getting what I needed every day to help in my journey back to playing, and a big part of that was including more beef and lamb, specifically for the high-quality protein and iron that they provide, which supports the healing process. For any athlete, access to that kind of nutrition is super important. As our sport has become more professional, nutrition has become an accepted part of what it takes to be successful. It’s great that the Queens take this part of the equation for success so seriously and why it's such a good fit to have a partner like ANZCO Foods on board.

Q: With your strong interest in nutrition, what advice would you give the next generation of Tokomanawa Queens players who are wanting to perform at their best?

My advice? Eat well, eat fresh, and know where your food comes from. Everyone’s different, so tune-in to what your body needs. If you’re not sure, talk to a nutritionist. Remember, it’s not just about optimising physical performance — it’s about living well, feeling good, and building a life around what your passions are. Certainly, for me, what I learnt early on in my career is that I needed more protein in my diet. Proactively thinking about how I do that across the day is therefore important. That might mean eggs for breakfast, finding good quality protein-rich snacks for during the day, as well as ensuring that I have protein as part of my lunch. I enjoy cooking, so the evening meal is when I get my chef on! A good quality grass-fed steak or a roasted leg of lamb are still my favourite meals. I’m a sucker for slow-cooked lamb shoulder with plenty of roast vegetables too – it really hits the spot after a long week of training.

Q: Finally, what excites you most about playing for the Tokomanawa Queens this season?

First and foremost, it’s the people and the fact that we have such a talented group of players on the roster this season. I truly feel like I have the chance of being part of something special, and with ANZCO Foods backing the Queens, I know that we will have all the fuel we need to perform at our best!