Many cold, wintery nights (Aussie netball season is April to September) were spent training at the Springvale courts, where I learned to enjoy shadow defence and despise ‘Indian File’. Tournaments were so much fun! My family got up super early on a Sunday morning to pack the Thermos and full picnic basket, as well as coats and blankets because tournament days were inevitably rainy and freezing. Those memories of our team chants, war cries and songs are some of my most cherished netball memories.

Mum attended a Springvale South committee meeting and returned home as President, much to my dad’s despair! But her initiatives drove our club to become one of the most successful and recognisable in the district. Not only did she lead the club, but also fundraised, ran selections, coached, umpired and played.

Dad utilised his talent for drawing to create a club logo for our grey and red uniform; the courts were soon flooded with red t-shirts sporting a bouncing netball with a smiley face. Every Saturday, Dad was my personal statistician, keeping score and monitoring my hits and misses. Our biggest fan on the sidelines, he was also chief cook at the sausage sizzle fundraisers. My little sister joined a team as soon as she was eligible, and my Nan drove from Glen Waverley each week to watch us play.

Netball umpiring was my first ‘job’. I was paid $5 per game, but also volunteered at the association canteen and coached my own little team of legends who thrived learning basic systems, just as I had.

Local and Rep netball allowed me to hone my skills, but I needed to find ways to challenge myself, physically and mentally, on the court. A mid-week ladies’ competition with ‘Peaches and Cream’ was the perfect solution. Competing in an open age group developed my strength, plus I had to think faster and play smarter in circle defence.

When the Victorian Catholics held their selections at the State Netball Centre, many senior players were present as selectors randomly called players to their positions. I went on court, wearing their netball skirt and bib - the skirt was so gigantic that it wrapped around me twice and kept falling down as I played! A skinny, athletic little defender, I was thrown on court in GD against comparatively much taller and more mature goalers. As it turned out I had accidentally attended their senior selection day!

In late 1992 I was chosen to play as wing defence in the Under 17 State Squad. Home training programs were allocated to us for the summer, so I did fitness circuits in my back yard holding tin cans or plastic soft drink bottles for weights and doing ‘step-ups’ around our garden beds.

Their fitness testing process was fun, especially the sprint and agility runs. In those days the VO2 Max test was a 1.6km time trial, which is far less brutal than the ‘Shuttle Run Beep Test’ or the ‘YoYo Test’ conducted now. Team selection came after four months of home and squad training, and a final day involving skills and match play. I was terribly nervous when the selectors read out the squad list and remember nothing but the joy and relief of hearing my name!



Out of all the hopeful netballers, I was chosen in the 1993 Victorian State Under 17 team, along with the legendary Goal Attack, Sharelle McMahon.

Excellence was expected in every single drill. Although I had been playing Circle Defence in local and rep netball, I was selected to play Wing Defence and Centre because the circle defenders were much taller. I was never taught to play either position, so had to adapt and learn on the fly. At the special presentation ceremony to announce team captains, we also received our ‘loot’ and I was thrilled to see my name on the back of my uniform for the first time.

Nationals came around in April of 1993. I played several quarters in both WD and C, with my parents and sister supporting me. At the conclusion of one game, while sitting on the sidelines to take off my shoes and socks, a shadow fell over me. I looked up to see the legendary ex-coach of the Australian Netball Team, Joyce Brown OAM. Stunned, I wondered why on earth she was talking to me! She said two things,

‘I see you haven’t got your ankles strapped; you should really look in to that’.

and

‘Well played.’

She walked away, long black coat swinging behind her, as I wondered where to buy ankle braces. I couldn’t believe she had taken the time to compliment me on the way I played! Little did I know that this was the first of my many encounters with the infamous Joyce Brown.

In 1994 I became extremely run down due to training heavily and my Year 11 studies. Eventually diagnosed with Glandular Fever amid Victorian State Squad selections, my fatigue kept me bed-ridden for weeks on end before I was allowed a slow comeback to training. Although I gave my heart and soul, I was devastated to not be re-selected for the State Team. But this started a fire in my belly that sent me on a path to ensure I made the team the following year.

When 1995 rolled around, I trialled once again for the Victorian 17 & Under State Team knowing I had to work hard to prove myself. Committed to my prescribed State Team cardio program, I regularly met with fellow squad members Karen Natoli and Wendy Jacobsen to do small group speed, agility, and ball work. My dad measured one- and two-kilometre tracks around our neighbourhood and, knowing my determination, my neighbours and family members often perched on their lawn – wine glasses in hand – high-fiving me on each lap. Mum waited at the finish line with a rug to collapse on, a bucket of cool water as a foot bath, and cold towel for my face. I was so fortunate to have such amazing supporters!

After all that preparation, I was overjoyed to make the Victorian team. And Wendy Jacobsen (current 19&U Victorian Coach) and I were named Captain and Vice-Captain!

Our 1995 National competition was held in Canberra. We had a strong team, which was great as competition was always fierce between Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia because, at the time, these states had the strongest junior development and pathway programs. At the conclusion of the tournament, I was chosen in the Australian 17 & Under Development Squad and invited to go to the Australian Institute of Sport for a weekend training camp led by some of Australia’s most decorated coaches. 

Enclosed was an invitation to become a Full Scholarship Holder at the Australian Institute of Sport’s netball program. This meant relocating to Canberra, away from my family, and postponing my plans for university. Naturally, I jumped at the opportunity, and in January of 1996, I moved in to AIS Hall of Residences.

The athletes lived in a set of U-shaped apartment buildings; each four-storey split-level block contained a single flat below-ground where the House Parents lived, 12 single rooms, four small bathrooms and a common room. The netballers were in Blocks 9 and 10, with the rowers to one side and the swimmers on the other side. The basketball girls and guys and the soccer boys lived across the quadrangle. After spying a tall, dark and handsome boy playing cricket the weekend I moved, I spent a lot of time getting to know the basketballers… but that’s another story!

• Early morning training followed by breakfast and work
• Early afternoon rest, recovery, treatment (physio, massage, etc) or socialising 
• Late afternoon court sessions where I played Wing Defence and the occasional Centre
  
• Every Wednesday afternoon we travelled by coach to Sydney to play our weekly match in the NSW State League. This is where I learned, and honed, skills in goal setting and visualisation to help me focus. 
  
• Saturday morning training with free time for the remainder of the weekend 
  

Most netball athletes received positions in their respective state National League teams but, unfortunately, that was not the case for me. So I returned home to Melbourne (with my spunky Queensland basketballer in tow) and played in the Victorian State League competition for a year, before being offered a Victorian Institute of Sport scholarship. 



VIS Head Netball Coach, Jane Searle, recognised that speed and agility were my best assets and invested time to convert me to a Wing Attack. I absolutely loved the challenging strength program under lead physical trainer, Vern McMillan, and began to thrive. 1998 was an incredible year, made memorable by a tournament in the Cook Islands.

In the late 1990s, National Netball received a shake-up and, with the disbandment of the Superleague, came the rise of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. In this new competition, all eight teams were controversially named after birds!

Once again, I crossed paths with the extraordinary Joyce Brown who had come out of netball coaching ‘retirement’ to become the new coach at Phoenix. Scouting for young blood, she invited me to join the latter part of the Phoenix pre-season, disappointingly missing my opportunity to feature in the team poster and be photographed for my very own Player Card. 

Someone (I can’t remember who) suggested that I take a photo of myself and make my own player card which I did by printing photos at Kmart and cutting them to size! So, if you happen to own one of my Melbourne Phoenix Player Cards, then you are very special because they are a true rarity!!!

The established Phoenix mid-court was very difficult to break into and opportunities throughout the 1999 season were scarce. Frustratingly, I only played seven quarters for the whole season, so I decided to defer my university course to entirely devote my time and attention to netball and training. I needed a coach to give me a chance!



In an answer to my prayers, Marg Lind, coach of the Kestrels, told me that my ‘university education is important’, that ‘netballers don’t get paid well’ and that my plan was ‘a stupid idea’, suggesting that I would likely get more court time by changing clubs. By the end of the conversation, I committed to doing uni part-time and switched to play for the Melbourne Kestrels. And I got my first real Player Card!

My first season at Melbourne Kestrels was spent mostly on the bench. Although, Coach Marg was right about getting more court time as I played 13 quarters that year! Our Centre was Nicole Richardson (current Collingwood Magpies head coach & Australian Diamonds Assistant coach) who was playing for Australia, and our Wing Attack was Shelley O’Donnell who was the Vice-Captain of the Australian Team at the time. 

My opportunity to step-up came in 2001 when Shelley fell pregnant, leaving the WA position mine for the taking. As the starting Wing Attack for Melbourne Kestrels, my family and friends came to cheer me on at our home games, and after our matches, netball fans - young and old – crowded the stands to request autographs. It was wonderful to become a role model and help to build other people’s netball aspirations. 

I was particularly fired up in our Round 10 clash of the Commonwealth Bank Trophy. Phoenix had held the lead all game but, in the final quarter, our goalers began to hit all their shots and the atmosphere shifted as their crowd went quiet while ours began to lift us with their roars. In the dying minutes my adrenalin was pumping … I must’ve gone too hard for an intercept as I received a warning from the umpire. But we walked away with a one goal victory, elated, if unlikely, winners!

With one strong National League season under my belt, I felt confident heading into season 2002. The Kestrels pre-season training was led by the amazing Gus Puopolo, a strength and conditioning coach and National athletics throwing coach. His sessions were the exact training I loved – sprints, plyometrics and weights.

New players were imported to our Kestrels line-up, including another extremely speedy and agile Wing Attack from Sydney, so I knew I would have to train and play well to earn court time. Our club participated in a pre-season competition at the Australian Institute of Sport against several other national league teams. Scouts for the Australian 21 & Under squad were present, and I was in good form.

The 2002 season commenced, and I found myself sharing wing attack court time with Katrina McCaffery as we headed to ETSA Park in Adelaide for our Round 4 match. ‘Starting’ was always my goal but this weekend my head was heavy with a nasty cold, so I was almost relieved to start on the bench.

Not quite a professional athlete but elite enough to gain priority access to doctors and surgeons, within days I had snared a ‘consultation’ (in the hospital hallway between his operations) with infamous knee surgeon, David Young, and my operation was scheduled soon after.



Dr Young conducted a full ACL reconstruction in May 2002 using the hamstring method, whereby the hamstring tendon was grafted, and torn ligaments removed. The surgery was a huge success and the hospital physiotherapist had me on my feet the next day and on a continuous passive motion (CPM) machine to keep my knee joint active. 

Rehab included the usual physio visits, and hamstring and quad strengthening exercises as I gradually built from weight bearing to running and, finally after 6 months, I was allowed to test my new knee dodging.

I returned to Kestrels’ training during the pre-season of 2002/2003 to find there had been a changeover in the coaching and leadership team – a new head coach and new team manager. To my great despair, I was not re-selected in the 2003 team and was advised to head back to play in the State League competition.

Sometimes things happen for a reason. At that time my basketballer boyfriend from the AIS proposed, so the excitement of planning an engagement and wedding gave me a new focus. At the same time, I graduated from university and earned my first teaching position, which was exceptionally exciting and terrifying all at once. Suddenly, with no regular training or netball games, life looked very different.

Over the years, I’ve been drawn back to the game on several occasions, playing:

• a partial season with Ariels in the State League
• a stint with Maroondah Hawks (coincidentally, now Boroondara Express where I coach!)
• a mid-week ladies A-grade comp at Waverley Netball Centre
• a little in the footy-netball league for Sorrento Sharks

But, while my love for the game was still there, my passion for playing (and my body’s inability to withstand the jarring of asphalt courts) had faded. 

• All my incredible coaches who fostered my love of the game
• The teammates, camaraderie and friendships I made
• Opponents who became friends, and those who remained rivals
• Weekend tournaments to week-long competitions
• Seasons played with exhilarating wins, heartbreaking losses and championship ending triumph
• Cheer squads I was part of, and those who cheered for me
• The valuable life lessons that grounded my determination, work ethic, time management and goal setting skills
• And, finally, the unconditional love for my beloved nettie!
  

I have experienced all the ups and downs a netballer can possibly experience. I understand the skills and conditioning required as well as the work ethic, mindset and sacrifices to make it to the top. No matter where you are in your netball journey, I would love to be a small part of it. Arrange a training session for your team or club using the Contact Page and together we will elevate your netball.