Hailey Van Lith NCWLIFE Interview

well thanks for watching the NCW Life channel and if you don't know who this blonde lady is next to me then you've been living under a Sports Rock for a long time we've got Haley van leth joining us here on the NCW Life channel yes she was able to come home and we snagged her for just a few minutes to be able to talk to her Haley how are you I'm doing good um I'm feeling blessed Paris was great had a bunch of family out there I've came back and got to come home and and be around my community and um you know it's meant everything so tell me about that experience the Olympic experience for you and bronze medal and everything if you guys had one more week to practice together that'd be gold for sure yeah it it was definitely unique um a lot of 3 on3 is a new sport so not a lot of people know how it works and what it's about um and a lot of my teammates were new to it too like you said um and so I think you know going into the next Olympics we might approach it a little differently but we definitely were behind on on time together and in team chemistry and but we were able to bring a medal home and we persevered and we showed toughness the entire time no matter uh no matter the the situation with the refs no matter the weather whatever was going on um at the end we pulled out winds and so I couldn't be more proud of us the um experience for you in Paris how I don't know if you've been there before have you I haven't okay so how was it did you get a chance to tour a little bit or were you guys kind of locked down it it was cool because my coach um Jen radi she understood that this was a unique experience for a lot of us so she did give us a lot of personal time and a lot of us had family there so she wanted us to be able to eat meals with our family um and enjoy Paris with them so I I went to the lou I rode my little electronic bike around the city um I went on walks I went to the Eiffel Tower um obviously on the opening ceremony we went down that scene River and had that expence in the point R and actually I got sick after that so yes I got very sick I had like the flu almost so um that sucked but the opening ceremony was such a cool experience like I was in right at the front of the boat next to LeBron and Coco and like all these amazing athletes and it was a very surreal moment so even though I got sick I would still do it again if I had to um but no just I saw the whole city I would love to go back again but it was it was a Unforgettable experi now I saw you on an interview afterwards and after you had the bronze that this is my one and only Olympic experience now is that true or are you going to do this again in four years in La I mean it's in La as as long as USA Basketball will have me I'll be back so um yeah as long as they want me I'll be there uh of course you could be playing on the you know the five on five team by then too yeah and that I mean I kind I think I have unfinished business at 3 on three right now so uh I think I I think I know where I'm I'm going to be at an LA I know what team I'm going to be playing for and then once I finish that business then I can move on but like I said it's an honor anytime USA calls your number so um if if they'll have me back I'll I'll always accept and there's only four of you so you got to stay healthy and that's a rough game yeah it's it's very physical um you have to be in Peak condition there's so many little nuances to it that are different than five on five that your body might not be ready for um so luckily for me I I stayed extremely healthy the whole time but um you know you have to train different it's a different type of preparation but it's fun it's it's relaxed it's a different style and I really enjoy it so I would definitely go back in 2028 I know you're used to being diminutive as far as the rest of the court is concerned and not being as tall as everybody you had that going on but you also were playing against Pros yeah how was that and and does that prepare you for your next step in life yeah I mean I played against pros and and my other three teammates were all Pros um and so it was it was a little peek into the next level of how you go about things how you get your body ready how you handle business um but I think that experience and playing against pros and playing with pros and you know I still made all tournament team um I led our team in in points and so just that like I proved to myself that I belong at the next level in that experience and so that was very gratifying for me um but it was was it was incredible even we got to be around the five on five team a lot too and there was a lot of experiences with them that opened my eyes just a lot of them are moms and have kids and just to see the relationship and then after they play a game win or lose they go back to their kid and they have to be a mom and so like getting to see that was was lifechanging for me and definitely open my eyes to A New Perspective you talk about robing elbows with LeBron and and all these famous people in your life I mean since you've left little old cashmir you've had a lot of brushes with Fame how do you stay grounded is it is it because your family because you're from here yeah I think I have very humble roots um and also I mean anytime life has a way of humbling you anytime that you get a little too high on yourself so I feel like um you know just being based in my faith and my relationship with Christ and also um you know basketball is a tough Sport and as as much as you'll be high one game the very next game you'll have your career low so um I think life humbles me for me but um you know my family my fans my community here every time that um you know I get wrapped up in in the in the basketball world or the sports are the media and the hate and the praise too much um I'm just reminded of the support I have here and um that's really all that matters so speaking of which I know you've watched Caitlyn Clark's entry into the WNBA and does that give you motivation does that make you a little trepidacious about it you know that's obviously the hope for you for your next step right yeah I mean I think it's all about how the person views it um and so for me um I'm very I'm going to be focused on myself as a player and um just what I'm going to be about that's all that I can control so um regardless of what happens on the exterior on the interior I know how I'm going to how I'm going to hold myself and how I'm going to go about things and I just I'm going to compete um in whatever whatever results that produces that's what it may be but um I'm going to go there to compete and earn a spot has it been unfair what she's gone through in her first year um I I wouldn't say unfair um I think when you look at any player of her caliber um the Vets you know they try to make a statement it happens in all sports it happens men's and women's um you know LeBron Jordan all of them went through that um I think Med social media now has been able to show it a little bit more I think we're seeing it more than we have with those past players just because the digital age is so more advanced um I mean it's there's a price you have to pay with being great and Caitlyn is great and so you know she might have to pay that price a little bit but that doesn't make her any less great and the great thing about her is that um she knows who she is and so she's obviously been able to to excel through whatever she's going through and um you know jealousy happens hard feelings happens and that's just part of the game it it comes and it comes with it so after you leave here at this interview I mean she literally has a family reunion and then boom she's going to Baton rou to graduate to walk with LSU right so um what's where's fun for you where do you get fun in your life I mean I know love seeing family and stuff like that but I mean I know you have fun playing basketball we see that in your eyes but I mean just hanging out and having fun what do you do yeah I mean obviously love to be with my family but I'm also you know a quiet fun girl when I do like to have fun like I can have fun I love jigsaw puzzles I love cooking and baking um I love reading I love watching a show I love doing cross word puzzles like little things in life I've learned are the fun for me and um whether it's just one evening I can get where I have space and and the freedom to sit on my couch and eat the meal that I want to eat and watch the show that I want to watch you know that's enough for me and I'm happy so so what's the go-to baked good for Haley van l i mean my banana bread is is pretty intense okay um I do a little chocolate chip action in it yeah so it's it's I give it my wife off camera here we got to try the chocolate chip cookie thing I like that oh yeah I got a I got I got a few in my Arsenal but I think the banana bread might be my favorite now you obviously have take care of yourself dietarily and things like that so you have to limit yourself you here eat it somebody else eat it yeah no I do love to bake for other people and also like it's few far between that I actually have time to bake so if I do have time to bake it's probably been enough time where I can have a nice slice of banana bread and it won't matter what's it feel like for you I know your parents they they give you big hugs all the time but this community the wachi Valley North Central Washington I mean you've been adopted by thousands of people and I get all the time people saying how's our Haley yeah and I'm sure Mom and Dad get that too how's our Haley yeah what does that make you feel it's it's really incredible and um it's it's a unique feeling to feel so much pride and being where you're from and I really do like when when I list my bio and I know it's going to be on ESPN when they announce my roster for the game on ESPN under my name it's like wachi Washington I I have a lot of pride in that um and so you know it it makes you emotional sometimes and even when you know everyone's reaching out to my parents all the time I see all the pictures like they did the watch party for me over the Olympics that happens all the time here no matter what game I'm playing the local bars will turn my game on the TV when no matter what time of day and and I mean it it warms my heart and it really does I'm so prideful to be from here and I love coming home and engaging with this community because um they've all really banded together to support me even when you know I maybe don't deserve it so do you ever get tired of that camera constantly in your face I mean you can't pick your nose you can't be a regular person you got a camera F on you all the time I mean I'm human so like sometimes it is a little irritating but like you know like I said earlier with Caitlyn there's a price to pay and it's a good price to pay um you know when you're in my industry and we're trying to move forward women's sports a way to move that forward is is to be visible and to have a camera in my face and to always answer questions and to say yes to media opportunities because I want the public to see us and I want them to to learn more about women in sports so um as as introverted as I am in as much as I like my personal space I want to expand the game more and so I'm willing to to you know make that tradeoff it's it's not a bad thing not everyone gets an opportunity to come talk to you or visit with you I wanted to give you the opportunity what's your message to young girls that might look at you and go man because you were young and you want you said I want to be in the WNBA I want to have my own brand of shoe you know I mean so what's your message to these young girls yeah I mean I think uh what I've learned in my career and what I've went through is just the emphasis on staying true to yourself throughout the whole process and at every point in your life people will try to tell you that you can't do it you'll finally get to that level and for the next level they'll tell you you can't do that and whether it's cuz you're a girl whether it's where you're from whether it's the sport you play whether it's how much money you make there's always going to be people that are going to tell you you can't and it's up to you you to have that true sense of self-belief to know that you can um and that's rang through ring true throughout my whole career is um you know she can't take her team to a final four she shouldn't have transferred she shouldn't have transferred she can't make the Olympics she can't lead her team to a medal I've heard that through everything I've done and um you know I've had to grow it I've had to grow and and solidify my sense of self-belief but um I would just I would say don't let don't let all those people tell you you can't affect how you feel about yourself and at the end of the day that's all that matters and if you believe then life follows well we sure are proud of you thank you and thank you for doing this today of course Haley van lith the one and only here on the NCW Life channel