Posted: Thursday December 09, 1999 01:01 PM

Michelle Griffiths was part of the 1996 Olympic team that won Australia's first medal in basketball -- a bronze. An All-Star in Australia's professional leagues, the 6-foot-1 forward played for the WNBA's Phoenix Mercury in 1998. Griffiths missed the 1999 WNBA season because of pregnancy, but is now training with the Australian National Team, which looks to win gold when the Summer Games come to their home country in 2000. Check out Griffiths' diary each month on CNNSI.com

December 8, 1999
Melbourne, Australia

Now that I have decided where I am going to play this off-season in Australia, I can start concentrating on the national team. I am playing with the Melbourne Tigers club team, and one of my national team members, Kristi Harrower, is on my team.

I have been a member of the national team since 1991, but I have missed the last two years due to my pregnancy and playing in Italy. I am very excited about training with the national team again and getting back into a high level of competition. Since I have missed the last two years, I don't think the transition back to the team will be very difficult. I think I am doing things right by taking things slow and doing a lot of training on my own. I am playing on a club team to help me prepare for the national team.

The training regiments are different for our club team than the national team. On our club team we train three to four times a week and have games on the weekends. We concentrate on shooting and drills with our club teams.

With the national team we have a four to five day camps where we have two three-hour sessions. We concentrate on offense and defense that we will use against different teams. We run a lot of plays that we will use when we play other national teams. We also use the camp to get reacquainted with our teammates since we have not played together for a while.

Chemistry is very important to the success of the team. A team plays better together when all the players get along. The unity plays a big role in keeping a high level of intensity during a game. Your teammates help motivate you and that is why it is important to have these camps so that our team has good chemistry.

The intensity level is much higher on the national team than on our club teams because it is very physically and mentally intense. When you leave camp, you are exhausted mentally and physically. I enjoy that level of intensity.

The club teams structure their programs around that of the national team. Most of the club coaches all know what Tom Maher, the national team coach, wants in his players. He wants his players to be at the top of their game and have a high level of intensity when they play. All the club coach's are trying to help his or her athletes get on the national team.

Tom works closely with the club coaches. Club is just a stepping-stone for the national team; it helps you work on your skills so you are ready to play on the national team. I am looking forward to training camp, which will be held in February. In the meantime, Kristi and I will be training together to work on our weaknesses to better prepare us for when we go to camp. It is nice to have Kristi on my team so we have an opportunity to train together.

The national team plays all international teams. Tom has already scheduled 21 international games for our team and would like to have 27 scheduled before the Olympics. They are all against different national teams from around the world. Most of the tournaments we will play in will consist of four national teams. I am excited about getting back to playing on the national team.

I feel that it is very important to eat right and get plenty of rest while training for basketball. I know I need plenty of rest, so I am mentally and physically ready to play. Nutrition helps your body to be physically ready to play, and being rested helps you mentally be prepared to play. Taking care of your body is an important part of being a professional athlete. I try and take care of my health so I am ready to play at all levels of competition.

-- Michelle