Trail blazing for the next generation: Nyadiew Puoch and her star turn

UC Capitals fans know the all too familiar sight of Nyadiew Puoch flying up and down the AIS arena, slicing through the opposition’s defense, and finishing with some kind of acrobatic layup.

Since joining the Caps last season, the 6’3” wing has been a bundle of excitement on the court, flashing the tantalising combination of skill and athleticism that led the Atlanta Dream to select her as the 12th overall pick pick in the 2023 WNBA draft.

But off the court, Nards’ story runs much deeper.

Last week, the WNBL released a four-episode mini docuseries Beyond the WNBL that takes fans inside the lives, pressures and passions of the athletes driving one of the world’s premier women’s basketball leagues.

In that series we saw Nards in a different light as she reflected on her childhood and how much her family shaped her path, at one point breaking down as she shared how her mum helped her break from cultural norms and encouraged her to follow her dreams.

“In our culture it's not normal what we're doing. They're not fine with girls going off and being basketball players. You need to make coffee for the men, you need to cook and do all that,” said Nards.

“For me growing up, my mum was incredible, she let us do whatever. My mum let me follow my dreams.”

“It was really special to tell my story and to show people how I grew up and got started playing basketball. I think a lot of people don’t really know much about me beyond what they see on the court so it was cool to be able to share some of that side of me.”

In the documentary, the young star was also featured baking – something she said she picked up last season along with her good friend and former teammate Claudea Waihape-Andrews.

“We kind of just scroll through TikTok and we see all these sweet treats and we’re such big sweet treat girls so we just started doing it and we ended up doing a really good job,” she said.

“It became a thing where she would come over to mines and we’d bake different things and we’d give it to the team and it just became a really fun thing to do. I feel like it’s a part of my creativity.”

In recent years, South Sudanese athletes have slowly emerged, with a number of athletes becoming some of the brightest stars in Australian sports. Thon Maker and Duop Reath have both worn the green and gold for the Boomers. Jo Lual Acuil, Bul Kuol and a number of other South Sudanese Australians are sprinkled among NBL rosters. The AFL has a growing number of players from that cultural background, and one of the world’s most promising sprinter is 17-year old Gout Gout. In the WNBL, there’s Nards, her sister Manny and Nya Lok (both for Southside Melbourne Flyers).

Growing up as a part of that vibrant community here in Australia, Nards also knows the responsibility she carries as a role model for the next generation, especially to the young girls.  

“To me, it means a lot. Like, it’s really hard to get a lot of South Sudanese girls to put themselves out there to play basketball, and even just to get selected for things,” she says.

“We’re not the majority so sometimes, when you’re around people, it’s hard because you feel different. But hopefully I’m inspiring other girls that they can do this, and they can be in my position too.”

“Because I don’t see why not. If I can do it, they can do it too. I hope I can inspire them to be able to open up, put themselves out there, and be true to themselves and they can achieve their dreams too.”

While the Caps haven’t had the strong start to the season that the team has hoped, Nards remains confident that the team will figure things out and give the fans of the city she now calls a second home something to cheer for.

“It’s been tough obviously and it’s something that we didn’t expect, but we know what doesn’t work and we’re all working hard to fix that both on an individual level and as a group,” she says.

“It’s going to come together.”

As for the future, Nards still has big dreams – she wants to make it big in the WNBA, but most importantly for her, she wants to be in a spot where she’s happy.

“Down the line, I hope to be in the WNBA and not just be in the WNBA, but be a key piece in the roster. Obviously that means I would have to develop a bit more,” she says.

“I also hope I’m paving the way for other girls to come through and I hope I’m happy and love what I’m doing.”

“I also hope I’m still a Capital, too.”

You can catch Nards and the rest of the Capitals this Saturday at 5pm at the AIS Arena as they face the Perth Lynx. Tickets are available here.

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