Four SBS Bank Academy Southland athletes were part of the Invecargill Netball Centre team which finished sixth at the recent Netball New Zealand under 18 championships in Rotorua.

A demanding schedule saw the team play eight games over four days, just getting edged out of fifth place in a 26-25 play-off game against Christchurch A Red.

The team was coached by Jess Huia, with manager Rachel Smith and physio Katie Bromley and included Academy athletes Riley Ballantyne, Lucy Hall, Lucy Shirley and Losa Fifita. The squad included Alex Hopcroft, Brianna Ferguson, Ella Yule, Farrah Heaps, Hayley van Beek, Jamie Anderson, Lucy Nind and Taylor Alty.

A first up 29-11 loss to Christchurch A Red was followed by four straight wins over the next tthree days, including wins over Whangarei (44-20), North Canterbury (26-17), Hawkes Bay Black (31-18) and Tauranga (29-20).

INC finished day three with a 26-14 loss to a Wellington A Black team which would go on to finish runner-up in the tournament, but bounced back the following day with a 27-17 win over Dunedin before just being shaded in the final game to achieve the centre’s highest finish in recent memory.

Read more about how the Academy athletes experienced the tournament below:

Riley Ballantyne

I loved netball nationals; it was physically really tough as well as mentally. I was super nervous going into this tournament as it was my first netball nationals against some big strong city centres. I used a lot of Jason’s mental advice he gave me such as controlling nerves and accepting that it’s a normal part of competing. Because we played eight full games over four days the importance of good nutritional and recovery played a huge part in my performance.

Lucy Hall

It was a great experience to get away and play some of the top teams in the country and to see how much potential Invercargill has. It was really exciting to finish 6th as that’s one of the best placings Invercargill has achieved at nationals. I hope that inspires other young netballers from Invercargill that it doesn’t matter about the size of your city but more the heart you have. From Academy Southland I was able to know how to control my nerves, nutrition that I needed to boost my performance and pre and post-game recovery.

Lucy Shirley

Nationals was such a great opportunity and amazing experience. I was exposed to top level netball across the nation which was incredibly inspiring and motivating. I believe the Academy helped me be in this competitive environment by providing support in terms of mental training. I was one of the younger players and the mental support provided by Academy Southland helped my performance on the court. I am extremely thankful to my support team across different sections which helped contribute to our success as a team.

Losa Fifita

First of all, All glory to God. It was such a great opportunity for me especially this is my first time representing Invercargill at a national tournament and coming home top eight in the country, it was an awesome experience. Going away I think made the girls and I realise how much more potential we have nation-wide coming from Southland compared to those bigger girls from up north. It’s exciting to see where we’ll end up in the future. I loved playing with girls and the preparation and the sacrifices made behind the scenes that led us to place 6th out of 38. I’m grateful for the support team that stuck it out to the end. The pressure from the last few games I tried to absorb and I tried to really put my all out on the court day to day. Through the Academy, with Jason’s workshops about our mental health and Tyson in the gym, Aimee and her knowledge about nutrition and Carly as well,  the lessons I’ve learnt over the past year and a bit has definitely contributed to the way I perform. It has changed my mindset on how I can do better and look for other opportunities that will help me to grow as an athlete and as a person so I can be the best that I can.

Article added: Thursday 05 August 2021