Having a ball

EMIRA GRBAC, MARKETING INTERN AND NICOLE ROACHE, MARKETING MANAGER

Netball star Tess Campigli (Year 12) has been scoring goals since the age of five. Starting her netball journey at South Barwon, she was coached by her Mum, who has been her “number one supporter” since she first stepped onto the netball courts.

Tess Campigli’s talent was noticed early on as she was selected for the Under 12 Victorian team in Year 6 and played GFL rep netball until she joined the Geelong Flyers. Tess was selected for Netball Victoria State Trials, making it to the final 25 girls over four weeks of training. “I was lucky enough to train with some of the best girls in the state”.

Tess continued to play at the Geelong Flyers and Cougars as a training partner. “I learnt a lot from the older, more experienced players and got to see the standard of player I needed to be if I wanted to make the team in the future”.

Tess has faced setbacks on the court. After a cancelled 2020 season due to COVID-19, she was keen to jump back onto the court. However, following a solid preseason for 2021, Tess sadly broke her foot. Stuck in a moon boot

for six weeks, Tess missed the end of the pre-season and the start of the 2021 season. Unfortunately, as COVID-19 continued to wreak havoc in Victoria, Tess could only play three games before her season was cut short.

Tess draws inspiration from her coach Collingwood Netball Club’s midcourt star Mel Bragg. Mel has remained resilient through her elite netball career, and Tess admires her ability “to give her everything to all she does; training 5-6 times a week and still making an effort to coach us”. Tess’ love for the sport shines through in her games. “I love the friendships founded on the court. I have made so many different friends from all over the county through netball. You can be having a tough day and go to netball and forget all your worries for a couple of hours. It’s nice being in a professional environment where everyone has the same passion for netball, and you get the most out of each other”

Selected as Captain of the College First Netball Team, Tess led the girls in the COVID-19 interrupted APS competition this year. As “one of the highest standards of competition” Tess

Tess has a few words of advice for our aspiring netballers:

“Just enjoy the game and everything that comes with it. There can be a lot of pressure to win and play well but the best games I have played have been when I am relaxed and genuinely just enjoying playing netball. Obviously with success comes hard work, there have certainly been many times where the last thing I felt like doing was training but it does pay off so I look forward to seeing you all out there giving your all!”

loved “playing against some of the best players in the state” and seeing other schools “amazing facilities” at away games. Tess certainly took her responsibilities seriously. “I think every player in the firsts squad is a leader. But being named Captain was such an honour. I love College netball and getting the chance to lead was something I had always hoped to do. This year as Captain, my main role was to keep the girls motivated and making the most out of the games and trainings where we got to spend together as a team. Netball at College is so strong, and I can’t wait to see what comes of it in the future years!!” In recognition of her outstanding performances on the court since 2019 Tess was named in the APS Rep Netball team for 2021. In a team full of state representative players Tess was thrilled to be named. “I was super excited to be selected in the APS team. The APS competition is full of really talented netball players, so I was really honoured to be selected. I wish the match against AGS could have been played. As Tess moves on to study teaching in Ballarat next year her plans for netball are a little up in the air, but she is hoping to return to College and coach if she can manage the time.