St Oran’s pair get South Africa call-up
A love of all things netball will see Sarah Calvert and Emily Potts flying to South Africa on July 5.
The St Oran’s College pair have been selected in the New Zealand 16-and-under side for the six-day world indoor netball Junior World Series in Johannesburg.
Sarah, a 16-year-old who began her netball at the Silverpine club, and Emily from Lower Hutt, will be in South Africa alongside Stokes Valley’s Jamee Beal-Leach - the third player from their Hutt Valley indoor side in the 12-strong Kiwi team.
Ahead of starting the indoor game Sarah and Emily were already seasoned team-mates.
And while both are happy with ‘‘traditional’’ netball, taking on indoor has produced quick results for them.
Emily took up the sport in 2016 while Sarah has made the most of her first year. Their under-17 Hutt Valley side won a national tournament in Palmerston North and their selection for Johannesburg followed.
‘‘Outdoor is still my main game but this is great,’’ Emily said.
Shooters in the ‘‘outdoor’’ game, they enjoy the extra positional freedom the six-a-side game offers.
‘‘I like how it’s faster paced with the ball never out of court and also that you can shoot twopointers,’’ Sarah said.
‘‘I like the speed too and the fact you can cover so much of the court legally,’’ Emily said.
They say their quick success in indoor is due to high-class coaching from Janette and Philip Vaaitoa at Hutt Indoor Sports.
‘‘I was lucky enough to be a member of their under-17 Mixed Juniors side which won the nationals,’’ Sarah said.
‘‘This year I asked Janette and Phil if they would coach an all girls team as I had a clash with another sport and couldn’t play mixed.
‘‘They did an amazing job with five girls from our side making it into national age-grade teams.’’
Sarah and Emily are selfconfessed sports nuts, finding time to fit in three sports in their busy college life.
Sarah plays college basketball (alongside Jamee) while Emily is part of a successful St Oran’s touch rugby side.
The pair have also been busy fundraising for the trip and are grateful for the support of the community and their parents.