Shooting star has lofty hopes
Each night Tali Uia puts up 200-300 shots. It’s part of her daily routine.
Being a goal shoot, accuracy under the net is key, and, as they say, practice makes perfect so she either heads down to the courts outside Saxton Stadium or takes aim at the hoop at home.
‘‘Doing my job as a goal shoot or goal attack, it really helps my preparation. I feel more confident if I know I’ve practised enough that I can do it while thinking about other things,’’ she said. It seems Tali’s hard work hasn’t gone unnoticed. The 16-year-old was named in the Netball NZ under-17 championships tournament team on Thursday, earning selection for her stellar performances throughout the week in Rangiora despite the team finishing in 22nd place.
Tali said the tournament team selection was a big surprise, being called on to the court following the final.
‘‘They did first and second place and had speeches from the captains then the tournament team was announced. Considering where we came I didn’t expect it.
‘‘My team was really stoked for me which was really nice.’’
When reflecting on the team’s 22nd place finish – Nelson’s best result in five years – Tali said the players believed they could have done better.
‘‘It wasn’t what we were hoping for but it’s still good. I’m still really proud of the girls though, I think everyone in the team did really amazing and should be proud of themselves.’’
The 1.81m-tall year 12 student has been playing premier grade netball with Nelson College for Girls for the past two seasons and said the added physical challenge of playing against adults has aided her development.
‘‘It’s been really good playing against older, more experienced players. It’s definitely pushed me to go harder and work on my knowledge of the game more.’’
Looking to the future, Tali said she ‘‘wants to go as far as I can,’’ with her two major ambitions being to play professionally or for the Silver Ferns, while in the short-term she just wants to get reselected in the Mainland development programme for another year.