A young athlete is the first from her local school to be selected for the u-16 national netball team.
El-Jenique Jantjies’ name will be engraved in HTS Drostdy’s history books as the first to receive national colours in her sport’s age group.
The avid netballer, who hails from St Helena Bay, went to Worcester two years ago, after receiving a bursary to attend the school.
Recently she returned from Boksburg, where she and her Western Cape netball team had participated in the all-age tournament.
The Western Cape Willows team came second.
It is certainly there that El-Jenique made history for her school.
“Hearing I was selected among the top 35 u-16 players was such a surreal moment,” she said.
Following the announcement El-Jenique had to take to the court to battle it out for a spot in the national team.
“I had to psych myself up to trust my abilities again,” she said.
“I knew I had what it took, so it was just a matter of finishing strong.”
Having her school netball coach at the tournament was also beneficial to this bubbly teenager.
“Though she coached another team she still encouraged me throughout the tournament and when I had to play trials for the South African team she told me she always knew I would be in the national team, words that were really and truly encouraging for me.”
After going through the trials El-Jenique was then named among the u-16 squad of 10.
“I was so proud I could burst,” she said with an audible chuckle.
As a high-performance athlete who hails from a school traditionally associated with rugby, the young athlete attributes much of her success to the development of netball at the school.
“I didn’t even know I was the first player of the school to be in the national netball team. I must say, though, that the school’s netball footprint has grown exponentially, and I am grateful to form part of this growth.”
What are her future plans?
“I definitely want to be a Spar Proteas player, but I also want to be an accountant.
“So balancing the two is going to be tough, but we will see what happens in future, eh?”
