Harding Earns Shot At Australian Campaign
Newcastle Herald
Thursday June 7, 2007
ALEX Harding completed a rapid rise in netball this week when she was named in her first Australian team.
Harding was a virtual unknown this time last year.She was training with the Hunter Jaegers and playing for their development team the Hunter Jays in the NSW Waratah League but was promoted to the Jaegers' top 14 for 2007.Her performances since making her top-flight debut in Grafton in April for Hunter have thrust her into the national spotlight and resulted in selection in the Australian under-21 team."It's incredibly exciting," Harding, who has been in the Australian under-21 squad for the past two years, said."I had the final selection camp on the weekend at the AIS [Australian Institute of Sport] and I played well on the Sunday and managed to get selected in the team."I'm over the moon . . . especially coming from nowhere. I was picked up [for the national squad] in my first year of 21s, but before that I was a nobody, so it was a whirlwind ride last year and it's good that I've been able to settle in and just develop."This is an awesome outcome."The 188-centimetre shooter, who celebrates her 21st birthday next week, has played in five games of seven for the Jaegers this season and has gone from strength to strength with each appearance.She is averaging 20 goals a game 10th best in the league and shooting at 79 per cent."Part of the selection criteria was performances in the CBT [Commonwealth Bank Trophy], and I went into the camp quite confident," Harding said."I felt like I had been playing well and knew the coaches were impressed with how far I had come from last year."I felt like I could actually match it with these girls this year, which was really good, and that gave me that little extra push to really strive to make this team."It's all thanks to the Jaegers. Actually getting on court and having the confidence to play up there with the best of the best, and match it with them, is good because it's something I know I can do now."The Australian youth team will play the England and Jamaican open sides in a series of closed practice matches in Melbourne in July."I definitely want to make it on court and play to the best of my ability and to try to match it with those Jamaicans because apparently they're all six foot four and really tough opponents," Harding said."Just the ability to get out there and do my thing and do it well is probably what I'm aiming for."
© 2007 Newcastle Herald