North Curl Curl netballer Ruby Nero takes to the court for U17 state team
Heading to the netball courts and attempting 1,500 shots at goal a week is Ruby Nero, a dedicated member of the Manly Warringah Netball Association (MWNA). Practice has paid off for Ruby, with the talented goal attack (GA) recently selected in the under 17 NSW team.
The Year 11 Pittwater House student has been playing netball since the age of eight with her local North Curl Curl club. Two years later she made the talent squad for the representative MWNA, who she continued with until under 15s.
“In (juniors) netball you play all different positions, but from (age) 10 onwards I’ve been a goal attack,” she says, describing the GA position as ‘really versatile.’
“You have to come up with heaps of strategies in the game and it’s fun.”
She also followed the netball pathway through her independent school, making it to the NSW All Schools Netball Tri-series in September last year. In recognition of her efforts over the week of competition, Ruby was acknowledged in the NSW All Schools Open ‘merit’ team.
“You have to be strategic to overcome different situations.”
Dedication, teamwork and mentorship have helped Ruby along her path, with the teen saying: ‘I’ve had so many great coaches over the years that I’m forever grateful to.’
Currently Ruby trains for eight hours a week at Sydney Olympic Park with the NSW team, complimented with gym and fitness training – and then there’s the goal shooting practice. “I do 1,500 shots a week over four or five sessions.”
Ruby’s biggest challenge? “Mostly balancing school and sport and finding a time for everything. But I have a very supportive school which helps me along the way,” she says.
To be selected for the under 17 state team, the athlete underwent three phases of trials, each three to four hours long, where she played a number of games. “Each time you just had to keep getting picked to progress to the next phase,” she says. “And each time the numbers of girls trialling got shorter and shorter.” Ruby received a call the afternoon of the third trial day from head coach Nardia Trevor, telling her she’d made the team.
“I’m excited – super excited but also nervous,” Ruby says of the upcoming National Netball Championships on 10 to 16 April, during which she will play with the NSW team for the first time. The games will be held at Netball Central at Sydney Olympic Park.
She joins some familiar faces, having played either with or against most of the netballers on the team – although Ruby, at 16, is one of the four youngest players.
When competing, Ruby enjoys ‘how quickly things can turn on the court.’ “You have to be strategic to overcome different situations,” she says. Strategic like her role model, Stephanie Fretwell, who plays GA for the Sunshine Coast Lightning. “She’s very clever,” Ruby says. “She leads by example on and off the court and she’s just a very smart player.”
While she ‘hopes to make it as far as she can in the future,’ with her netball career, Ruby’s plan is to ‘focus on the now.’ “I’m going to take it one step at a time.”