COMMUNITY
SELF BELIEF DARE TO DREAM
Former Australian Diamonds netballer Sharni Norder (nee Layton) achieved more than she had ever hoped for pursuing her sporting goals. The champion athlete, who is now Head Coach and Program Manager at Methodist Ladies’ College (MLC) in Melbourne, arrived at RGS to coach our netballers with all the energy she unleashed playing in both her netball career and playing AFLW for Collingwood.
Sharni Norder hits the court, working on players’ passing techniques, setting up on defence and driving to the ball, but it’s when the training drills stop that RGS netballers gained a greater insight into the former Australian Diamonds netballer and AFLW player. Fielding insightful questions, Sharni informed the girls there is more to life than being fortunate to play elite sport. One student question was, “Would your younger self be proud of the person you are now and all the achievements you have made?” “Yes absolutely,’’ Sharni said. “I think sometimes we judge ourselves so much when we are younger. I think it made me who I was and made me push myself to who I am. It wasn’t always positive. But I achieved more than I ever could have ever hoped for or believed. You really don’t know what you’re capable of. There’s no one stopping you from doing what you want to do. “I’ve met people from all walks of life. They aren’t all nice and there’s nothing special about them. But they all work hard, some have an easier leg up than others but it doesn’t mean you can’t get there. So I would say never put a lid on yourself. It’s only your own beliefs holding you back.” 10 / THE ROCKHAMPTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL CAPRICORNUS QUARTERLY
Sharni said there was so much more than being a great athlete, or whatever you want to do in life, than what it just looks like on the top. “It’s really important that you find a mentor to tell you what else you can do because you don’t know what you don’t know,’’ Sharni said. Time management and being organised were also an important messages for the students. Sharni’s tip was to sit down on a Sunday and go through the week’s schedule, writing down your school programme and any sport or work commitments – not forgetting to include time with family and friends. “Have it written down so you can stick to it and hold yourself accountable for that. Reward yourself if you stick to it and there’s punishments if you don’t. If it ever got too much for me I would talk to my teachers,’’ Sharni said. Juggling training and study/work commitments since she was a teenager, Sharni also advised the students be self aware of when they were feeling rundown. “It’s important knowing when you are getting really run down and asking yourself if you need a break one night from sports training. That needs to be more accepted in sport. You can do a lot in a short amount of
