By Marc McGowan
TOORADIN rising star Sarah Kernot is still beaming after representing Victoria for the first time at last month’s national under-17 netball championships at the State Netball and Hockey Centre in Parkville.
Victoria went through the tournament undefeated before falling to major rival New South Wales 21-15 in the grand final.
It was an anti-climactic finish after Victoria had trumped NSW 31-15 in the preliminary rounds, but Kernot, 16, was still delighted.
“We should have been really disappointed, but the buzz of going through the week undefeated was an achievement in itself,” the year 11 Casey Grammar student said.
“It was an awesome experience and something I’ll never forget, just with the girls I met and I’ve made friendships that will last forever.”
Kernot was one of just seven Victorians to play in each of the nine matches and was pleasantly surprised with her performances.
“I didn’t expect to get a whole lot of court time, but I had a good run,” the 170cm wing attack/centre said.
“It was good competition and it was a level I’d never experienced before, so I was happy with how I played.”
Kernot was thrust into a professional atmosphere at the championships that she also had never been a part of before.
“We had team meetings every night until late and had everything laid out on what was expected from us,” the talented teenager said.
“If we didn’t do it on the day, we got dragged, so there was heaps of pressure on you.”
The pressure reached a crescendo in the grand final in front a huge throng of fans, where every play was critical.
“It was probably the most nerve-racking thing I’ve ever done,” Kernot said.
“It was really intense and there were heaps of people there – the crowd was going off. As soon as you did something good you knew about it.”
She will now aim for selection in next year’s under-19 squad. By making the under-17 team, she is already automatically into the final 50 for that team.
“I would like to do it again. I just need to maintain everything I’ve worked on and keep up the intensity of training because I’m not playing as much as I used to,” Kernot said.
“School commitments make it so hard with homework and I have mid-year exams coming up, so if I play netball a whole night is gone.”
She has returned to playing for Melbourne Waverley in State League competition since the championships, but has given the thumbs up to the introduction of a Casey State League team.
“I was thinking of looking for another club for next season because I’ve been at Melbourne Waverley since under-13s, so I’d definitely be interested,” Kernot said.
For now, however, she will continue her development as a netballer and hope to see a few familiar faces along the way.
“All the girls from Victoria play in opposition (State League) teams, so I can still keep in contact with them,” Kernot said.
“We were given a huge amount of advice at the championships. We had a booklet that we had to fill out during the week and the stuff I learnt personally and with netball was just huge.”
