Love of lacrosse leads to nationals

You could say that Ashley Karl started playing lacrosse by accident.

A natural when it comes to sport having played netball, basketball, touch, rugby sevens and rugby, the 13-year-old Morrinsville College student decided to go and have a look with a friend when the school introduced lacrosse this year.

‘‘I really liked it, so I kept playing and my friend didn’t,’’ she laughs.

Ashley grasped the game quickly playing in mid-attack, so when approached to trial for the Waikato U15 lacrosse squad, Ashley with the encouragement of her mum, went for it.

As part of the Waikato U15 development squad, she travelled to Auckland with the team to compete in the U15 nationals where her team finished fourth.

It was there that she was named in the New Zealand U15 lacrosse squad.

Ashley’s mum Megan Johns said Ashley’s selection didn’t sink in for about 24 hours after the announcement of the squad.

At first, Ashley thought she was hearing things when her name was called out.

‘‘It didn’t feel real until I put the New Zealand polo shirt on when we were at the airport on our way to Wellington,’’ Ashley said.

‘‘I never thought that I could get this far.’’

From September 16-18 Ashley went to Wellington and played at the New Zealand U18 Lacrosse Nationals.

‘‘I was really nervous, because I was the youngest and the least experienced player,’’ she said.

‘‘My team mates were really supportive so that helped me to overcome all of that.’’

Ashley would not have been able to travel to Wellington without the support and encouragement of staff at Morrinsville College and without the help of her sponsor Anderson St Panel and Paint.

‘‘We appreciate everything,’’ Megan said.

‘‘Communities like Morrinsville really know how to show their support.’’

While Ashley is looking forward to a break over the school holidays, her aspirations are high when it comes to a future playing lacrosse.

‘‘My ultimate goal is to make the New Zealand team for the Lacrosse World Cup in 2019 in Canada.’’