Kersten a clear and present danger at Magic
Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic midcourter Claire Kersten is cool, calm and collected.
A level-headed presence on court, the former Central Pulse captain is finding her feet at the Waikato squad, after spending the start of her career in Wellington.
“There’s lots of learning, which is nice to think that I’ve been doing this for a while but to still feel like you can learn and contribute is nice, it keeps things fresh and interesting,” says Kersten.
It’s a pragmatic attitude she carries off the court as well, choosing to look on the bright side of the Magic’s four consecutive losses since their win in round one of the ANZ Premiership.
“It’s not all doom and gloom and even though time-wise we’re about halfway through the season, we’ve played five games and so there’s still time to pick things up.”
Despite round seven of the competition starting today, the Magic will again not take the court, with the Southern Steel calling off both of their fixtures under Covid protocols.
But Kersten is managing to see the positives.
She points to the fact that a considerably wider range of players have had the opportunity to take the court for the Magic this year due to the Omicron outbreak, including veteran Leana de Bruin who, at 44, is the oldest player to ever play at the elite domestic level.
“We’ve had some really experienced players who might not have played for the last few years but they’ve had experience at ANZ level before, and a lot of them had played at the Magic before as well so it’s nice to know that they can slot in really easily,” explains Kersten.
“At the same time, we’ve had some NNL [National Netball League] players come in.”
Amid the changes, a constant has been her combination with midcourter and captain Sam Winders, whom she alternates alongside between the centre and wing defence positions seamlessly.
The duo have played together for the Silver Ferns, but Kersten is enjoying the opportunity to build a strong on-court connection with her.
Kersten wore the black dress for the Ferns’ Quad Series campaign in England earlier this year and hopes to again at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in July.
Kersten credits the Magic’s rigorous training schedule which, in addition to the usual gym and conditioning sessions, also contains a full practice game every week, as good preparation for the physically demanding programme at the Commonwealth Games.
“In a Commonwealth Games campaign you have to be able to back it up day after day, so it definitely is good preparation for hopefully that situation in a few months.”
While the goal is to wear the New Zealand uniform when the plane leaves for Birmingham in July, Kersten’s keeping her mind set on helping her Magic side climb the ANZ Premiership table during the remainder of the season — with her cool equanimity leading the way.
“It continues to be a challenge and I’m sure there will be a few more thrown at us but that’s just life, so you’ve just got to get on with it.”