Double trouble

Ava Woosnam making her mark on two courts

There are a lot of skills that crossover between basketball and netball and Naracoorte’s Ava Woosnam is nailing them in both sports.

Fitness, speed, stamina and agility as well as rebounding, shooting and intercepting are skills in in both netball and basketball,” Ava said. “Also learning how to read the play and playing as a team.”

Her development across both sports sees her in elite pathway programs for both.

She was recently selected in the Thunderbirds Academy as part of the Emerging Athletes program that ranks her in the top 20 junior netballers in South Australia and she is already building a strong SA Country State basketball resume and is headed to the Under 16 national championships in Perth this July as part of the SA line-up.

The 14-year-old started playing netball when she was in Year 3, following in the footsteps of her mother, nan and aunties. “And all my friends played,” Ava said.

And it is the friendships she has fostered even at her young age that have made the sport so special for Ava.

“I mostly enjoy playing with my friends and versing opponents from other towns -it’s a great way to make new friends,” she said. Ava played SAPSASA netball as a Year 7 student at Naracoorte Primary School as part of a gold medal winning team, represented Naracoorte High as part of the Year 8 School Knockout Netball team; has represented the Kowree Naracoorte Tatiara Netball Association at the SA Country Championships for the past two years and was also part of the South East Development Academy during that time.

Ava has also picked up individual honours along the way, finishing runner up best and fairest in the 13 & under A and Division 3 (Under 15) competitions in recent seasons.

And she is as busy as ever this season, playing for Naracoorte in the Division 2 grade, which is 15 & Under age group, filling in for the Division 1, which is 17 & Under age group and training with the senior Demons squad.

That sees her week filled with training, with both her junior and senior trainings back to back on a Thursday night, as well as adding an extra Tuesday session, as well as a gym session. Ava plays in goals, as well as at the defensive end and is grateful for the mentors that have guided her netball career thus far.

“At the Naracoorte Netball Club Lucy Henschke has been my coach for four years and I look up to her as a coach and friend,” Ava said. “Kath Mott was my SAPSASA coach and U13As coach and taught me a lot and Mel Pretlove, who was also the president for years, taught me the basics when I first started and does a lot at the club.”

She has also benefitted from the wisdom of Limestone Coast netball legend Donna Denton, through the South East Development Academy.

“I have also learnt a lot from Donna with my shooting and she also told me to give defence a go,” Ava said.

Ava is 6ft 1 so her wing span and rebounding are already assets as she looks to continue to develop her game.

“I have good hand-eye coordination and I’m really like to develop my speed and agility,” she said.

And Ava knows there will be even more development coming as she taps into the expertise of the coaches working with the Thunderbirds Academy players.

“I’m looking forward to being pushed out of my comfort zone and learning new tactics and plays and I’m looking forward to meeting new girls and seeing how we match up against each other,” she said.

Of course, there is her basketball development as well and Ava has a strong family connection that drew her into that sport in the first place.

“I have been playing basketball since I was four,” she said. “I played because my friends did and also my Aunty Sam Woosnam played juniors for Australia and captained Adelaide Lightning.”

Ava has built a similar basketball resume to her netball one, having played SAPSASA basketball, been part of Naracoorte High School’s Knockout Basketball team in Year 8, represented the Naracoorte Kings at regional events, earned a place in the Limestone Coast Regional Sporting Academy and a handful of individual accolades we well.

Ava has represented SA Country at last year’s Under 14 Adelaide Invitational; at Under 15 level earlier this year at the Southern Cross Challenge in Melbourne, and is headed to Perth for the nationals in July.

Being part of the SA Country pathway has played a huge role in her development as a basketballer.

“I learn a whole range of different skills, drills, and plays,” Ava said. “The training sessions are long so we are pushed and I get a lot out of it. We also work on our strength and conditioning and workload. This is all recorded on an app called Own Ur Goal.

We spend a lot of time together bonding as a team and with our coaches which helps on court performance.”

So when you add Ava’s basketball training to her netball load she is certainly busy.

Training as a development player with the Mount Gambier Pioneers, fitting in a couple of gym sessions; working through the strength and conditioning program as part of the Limestone Coast Regional Sporting Academy, as well as a couple of nights of matches in Naracoorte, where long time basketball mentor Glen Mathieson is in charge.