Dickins aims for Commonwealth

Stephanie Dickins hopes her debut tour with the Black Sticks next month will help set her on the path to the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

The 22-year-old was one of three debutantes named in the squad for their tour to Argentina by coach Mark Hager last week.

Dickins was on holiday when she got the call she had made the team.

‘‘I was down south with my flatmate who also made the team so it was pretty exciting that we were together when we were both named,’’ she said.

In fact, Dickins was the third member of her flat to make the Black Sticks with fellow midfielder and debutante Tessa Jopp and 31-test striker Kelsey Smith named as well.

Her selection came just days after she was confirmed in the Black Sticks development squad for the year.

Hager selected a young team to head to Argentina and provided a significant incentive to perform by leaving five places in his main Black Sticks squad for the year open.

Midfielder Dickins, a former Junior Black Sticks player, was looking forward to her first match for New Zealand.

‘‘I have played with a lot of the girls quite a bit because about five of us went to the Junior World Cup together so I should not feel to out of my comfort zone,’’ she said.

Dickins was raised on her family’s farm in Apiti and she went to Feilding High School where she was a track and field star.

She said her upbringing helped pave the way for her sporting future

‘‘[My sisters and I] were definitely all competitive,’’ she said. ‘‘We could not play anything without making it a competition. I think it was good growing up with that and growing up on the farm, we all grew up to be tough.’’

Dickins’ older sister Nicole is captain of the Manawatu Cyclones.

Once she finished school, Dickins headed north to Auckland to study to be a physio, a qualification she is just eight weeks away from completing.

Since the move, she has impressed while playing for the North Harbour NHL side and has long been touted for an international call-up.

Dickins will link up with the Black Sticks when they resume training on January 30.

The team will then head for Argentina for the series which runs from February 10-22.

Dickins was working on drag flicking ahead of the tour in a bid to be more of a goal-scoring threat.

Her selection in the Black Sticks has come at a good time with a number of senior players stepping away after the Rio Olympics and the Gold Coast Commonwealth Games one year away.

She hoped to prove she was up to the task of a regular spot in the team.

Manawatu striker Michaela Curtis and goalkeeper Georgia Barnett are also part of the Black Sticks squad touring Argentina.