National Selection for Netball Central’s Talented Youngsters

National Selection for Netball Central’s Talented Youngsters

22 April 2015

Netball Central Zone’s talented young players are well represented in the 2015 NZ Secondary Schools squad (NZSS) announced by Netball New Zealand (NNZ).

Five players from the zone made it into the final selection of 12, with an additional zone player named as a reserve. Shooter Tiana Metuarau, mid-courters Marcelle Parkes, Kimiora Poi and Mila Reuelu-Buchanan, along with defender Colleen Faleafaga will all feature, with Diahn Strickland taking up a reserve spot.

The players will compete in next month’s Trans-Tasman U19 Netball Tournament in Rotorua. The NZSS team will play twice over three days between Tuesday 26 May and Thursday 28 May.

Netball Central Zone and Mojo Pulse CEO Carolyn Young is delighted to have such good representation from the zone. “It’s a great achievement for the girls and their families,” she explained. “It reflects the hard work they have put in with the ‘Pathway to Pulse’ programme and the extra training sessions they have completed to prepare for the trial.

“We are extremely proud of all the trialists and it bodes well for the future of the zone and the Central Pulse.”

In another announcement from NNZ, eight players from the zone have been selected into the 2015-2016 Pathway to Podium (P2P) programme with a further player on the P2P reserve list.

The players were selected by NNZ’s Emerging Talent Selection panel, which includes former Central Pulse Assistant Coach and NZ Secondary School Coach Marianne Delaney, and former Netball Central Zone U23’s coach, Charissa Barham.

The P2P programme is a talent programme run in partnership with both Sport New Zealand and High Performance Sport New Zealand and is aimed at providing support and guidance in areas such as performance planning, training regimes, mental skills training, strength and conditioning, and nutrition.

Five of the zone’s players – Collen Faleafaga, Emma-May Murray-Fifita, Kimiora Poi, Mila Reuelu-Buchanan and Layce Walker – were in the inaugural selection last year. Wellington East Girls College teammates Tiana Metuarau and Marcelle Parkes, and Te Rito Manukura's Diahn Strickland are this year’s new selections, whilst Kelsey McPhee is on the reserve list.

Netball Central Zone Emerging Talent Manager and Mojo Pulse Assistant Coach, Frances Solia, believes that this is a great achievement, especially for the three new selections to P2P programme.

"Marcelle, Tiana and Diahn deserve to be included in this year's programme because they have worked so incredibly hard and have made a lot of sacrifices to ensure their places," said Frances. "Marcelle, in particular, has made a huge decision by choosing netball over Junior White Sox softball.

"I am so pleased and so proud of them all," she added.

ends

© Scoop Media