THUNDER struck in the Blue Lake city on Monday, when 50 young netballers were given the chance to participate in a training clinic run by two Adelaide Thunderbirds players.
Kaitlyn Bryce and Abigail Latu-Meafou flew down from Adelaide especially for the clinic, which was held at the Olympic Park netball courts and consisted of training sessions aimed to test and develop the youngsters’ skills.
With limited positions available, the lucky girls made the most of the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, soaking up all the advice the Thunderbirds had to offer.
The sessions were capped off with autographs from the professional players, where the youngsters were able to have some one-on-one time with their role models.
The clinic was not only enjoyed by the youngsters on the day, as both Bryce and Latu-Meafou expressed their enjoyment in coaching the girls.
“It was really good, the girls are just so eager to learn,” Latu-Meafou said.
“We can reminisce from when we were that young, just wanting to know everything and get as much information from coaches as we could.”
Bryce said although it can be hard to soak up so much all at once, she hopes those involved can take something away from the clinic to better their game.
“There is a lot of information overload that I know I personally tend to chuck at them,” she said.
“But I hope they can take something away from the clinic.
“If they can even put just one little thing into their game from the clinic – attack, defence or shooting – it would be great.”
Both Thunderbirds agreed they would like to return to Mount Gambier for another clinic and said it was an good experience for them as well as for the youngsters.
“We have been very fortunate to be flown out to come and share all our netball knowledge with the girls,” Bryce said.
Latu-Meafou said she enjoyed her time with the girls, but hoped there could be more attend in a future clinic.
“It was a little bit sad, it was limited to 50 girls and apparently we had around 100 enter,” she said.
“Hopefully next time we come down we can open it up for a lot more.
“This clinic went really well.
“Hopefully we get a big Mount Gambier Adelaide Thunderbirds supporting.”
With these sorts of opportunities not always available to rural and regional areas, Bryce and Latu-Meafou both expressed the importance of providing opportunities like this at the grassroots level.
“We’ve both come from quite rural and regional areas and I think there is so much talent in these areas that sometimes gets overlooked,” Bryce said.
“It’s really great we can bring stuff here to help challenge them.
“Then, if they reach that stage where they need to be challenged that little bit more, they have had this exposure to these types of clinics and know what’s needed for the next level.”
