STAR TEENS OFF TO CAMP
GEELONG teenagers Allie Smith and Emma Walters have earned selections into Netball Australia’s 2019 Netball Centre of Excellence squads.
Smith, 19, will take part in the squad for a fourth-straight year as a under-19, while St Mary’s Walters has been selected in the under-17s, based on their performances at the national netball championships in Brisbane over the past week.
The under-17s will head to the Centre of Excellence base in Canberra from June 6-10 for a five-day camp, while the under-19s will head over from July 6-10.
“I’m pretty stoked about it,” Smith said.
“There’s a camp that takes place in July where I head over to the AIS. Obviously there are some amazing coaches that will all have an input into my playing style and will help me play better on the netball court.”
The Geelong Cougars representative said she had learnt plenty from her three previous selections.
“It’s bettered my netball out of sight really,” she said.
“I got picked in the Australian squad in 2016 as a bottomage 17.
“And then I got picked topage 17s, last year bottom-age 19s and this year top-age 19s.
“Obviously different coaches from all around the different states, seeing different abilities that I can show on the court, so obviously the coaches there have great experience and great knowledge that they can share with me.”
Netball Centre of Excellence head coach Michelle Wilkins said she was excited to be welcoming Australia’s up and coming netball talent into the next phase of the Netball Australia high-performance pathway program.
“The standard of skill and ability that has been on show at the national netball championships has been outstanding — it really highlighted the depth of our young talent and that the future success of Australian netball is in excellent hands,” Wilkins said.
“Our camps are designed to expose our next generation of elite netballers to a high-performance environment — this is just the start of these athletes being in a national setting, so we’re excited to see what this group bring to and learn at these three camps.”