AMBER GETS SA GREEN LIGHT

BY SHAFIEK MOUTON

By wearing the green and gold, I realise that I can be a role model for youngsters.

BEING A HIGHPERFORMANCE ATHLETE or a dedicated university student can be challenging, but simultaneously being both seems even more daunting.

THIS IS THE REALITY FOR AMBER CORAIZIN, a 24-year-old netball star from Vredenburg on the West Coast, and she’s still working out how to navigate the complicated terrain.

CORAIZIN, A SECOND-YEAR BA STUDENT at the University of the Western Cape (UWC), was recently selected for South Africa’s team to compete in the annual Fast5 Netball World Series in November in Christchurch, New Zealand. So, how exactly does she do it? “It’s hard work,” she says. “People don’t see the long days and late nights, not many people understand what goes into the grind to make it all work."

"SOMETIMES I STRUGGLE but I pull through because I see the bigger picture. I want to be great at my sport but I also want to obtain my degree. My family back home is my why but I’m just a human being on this journey called life and trying to figure it out as we go along.”

CORAIZIN GREW UP IN VREDENBURG and was a “street baller” from a young age. “I basically grew up as a street baller, always playing sport with my brothers and the neighbourhood boys,” she says. “We played touch rugby and cricket. Netball was never really part of my life as a youngster as rugby, especially club rugby, is part of the culture on the West Coast. My parents and my brothers, David-John and Elih, have always supported me on my journey – they are my why. Growing up in Vredenburg, there weren’t really role models to look up to, so now that I am wearing the green and gold I realise that I can be a role model for youngsters.”

CORAIZIN, WHO IS A FLEET-FOOTED CENTRE, says her journey has not been without hardship. “I was out of action for 18 months. First, I did my ACL (anterior cruciate ligament, one of the crucial knee ligaments), then the other one. One setback after the other. However, that made me even more determined to come back stronger than ever before.”

I’m forever indebted to UWC and everyone who has been part of my journey.

SHE SAYS SHE’S GRATEFUL TO UWC. “The late Adrienne Galagatsi motivated me to study and I’m grateful to have this opportunity. Netball and sport have given me a platform and I’m forever indebted to UWC and everyone who has been part of my journey.”

A SELF-PROCLAIMED ADVOCATE FOR MENTAL HEALTH, Coraizin says: “Mental health is something I take very seriously. Everyone’s journey is unique and everyone has his or her own issues. I hope to have a positive impact on this front and also in putting women’s sport where it belongs. And that’s right up there with the best that men’s sport has to offer.”