Tayla beats the doubters

By Marc McGowan
NARRE Warren netballer Tayla Shannon will make an unlikely state debut in August after being knocked back for her regional academy squad earlier this year.
Shannon, 14, will be the youngest member of the Victorian Secondary Schools’ Sports Association team when she takes to the court at the School Sport Australia Netball Championships in Canberra.
The Year 9 St Francis Xavier College student is also the only non-academy member in the elite side.
“I was talent identified for academy, but I didn’t make it,” she said.
“It was the best feeling (making the state team) – I wanted to prove I was good enough to get in.”
Shannon is certainly not a new name in netball circles.
The talented goaler plays for Berwick in the Casey Cardinia league of the MPNFL on weekends and also competes for the Gippsland Storm in the tough Waverley competition on Thursdays.
Shannon finished runner-up in the under-15 MPNFL best-and-fairest award last year after winning the under-13 award in 2007.
Those performances have earned her a regular spot in the MPNFL Sharks squad for interleague competition.
Shannon is looking forward to representing Victoria for the first time and hopes the state can come out on top.
“We have got about 10 training sessions leading into the big tournament in Canberra against other states in August,” she said.
“It should be fun and I’ll make some new friends. I don’t really get nervous; it will be a good experience.”
Shannon’s immediate goals are to crack the starting seven for Victoria at the national championships, but long-term she is hoping to play for Australia.
Her idol is superstar Melbourne Vixens and national team goaler Sharelle McMahon, but she is keen to forge her own style on the netball court. “I like her (McMahon’s) leadership qualities and how she doesn’t let her (lack of) height bother her – she’s a hard player,” Shannon said.
“I play my own game, but I take bits and pieces off other players to improve my game.
“I probably need to get my accuracy up in goals and try to get them all in!”
Another of Shannon’s aims is to earn a spot in the new Victorian Netball League when she is older and she is also keen to make the academy squad next year.
“I’m not really sure why I didn’t get into academy,” she said.
“The girls were a little bit older or taller than me, but I don’t let that stop me.”
Shannon took a break from her netball commitments yesterday (Wednesday) to compete in interschool cross-country competition for St Francis Xavier College.
But you get the feeling her future will have netball written all over it.