Crafty midcourter Hope White has been picked for the Australian U21 squad.
It’s a huge opportunity for the 17-year-old Giants Academy star and puts her in a great position to try and land a spot on the official team for the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar.
Her selection caps off a very successful year, after White was also crowned a winner at the National Netball Championships.
Representing the NSW U19s side, her impressive performances earnt her the grand final MVP award, as well as a call-up to the Australian U19 squad.
It was White’s first time stepping up to the older division at nationals after previously winning a gold and silver medal with the NSW U17s.
Somehow, she’s achieved all of this while completing her HSC in year 12 at high school.
Reflecting on the Waratahs’ campaign, White said the result had felt satisfying.
“It felt amazing to win it, especially since we were all such a close group of girls,” she said.
“We had such a great relationship with each other and the coaching staff.
“I feel like all our hard work paid off, especially the weekends we put in because we were training Fridays and Sundays.
“But it was all worth it when we won that gold medal.”
White has had a pretty meteoric rise in the state pathways since making her debut for the Central Coast Heart in the 2022 U23s Premier League.
The franchise is a joint venture of the Gosford, Woy Woy Peninsula and Wyong District netball associations. It was formed to provide more opportunity for players, coaches and officials across the Central Coast and Hunter region.
For White, it is unlikely she would be where she is now – on the cusp of representing her country – without the Heart’s existence.
As a Newcastle local, playing Premier League has exposed her to the selectors and a higher standard of netball, despite living so far from the competition’s hub in Western Sydney.
It wasn’t long before White was elevated to the Opens Premier League and for the past two seasons since, she’s been carving up the midcourt against players beyond her teenage years with a lot more experience.
But there’s obviously a fair bit of sacrifice involved, driving a four-hour round trip to get to the courts at Netball Central to play.
Throw in White’s Giants Academy and nationals commitments to the mix and sometimes the drive to Homebush has had to be made several times over the course of a week.
Outside of that, there’s also the Premier League training sessions held on the Central Coast, an hour and a half from where she lives.
Like many of her peers, White has been juggling this with her schooling.
“A lot of us that play for Heart actually live in Newcastle, so it's still more than an hour’s drive from the coast,” White said.
“We drive ourselves here to Netball Central on Wednesday nights for the games too, but we're kind of used to it now, so it's not that bad.
“The 8:45pm time slot for games is harder because you get home so late and have school the next day, but those are the sacrifices you have to make if you want to play.”
Throughout White’s time in elite netball there has been one constant and that has been coach Amber Cross.
Cross led the NSW U17s and U19s campaigns that White has been a part of and is a key figure at the Central Coast Heart.
As a foundation coach, Cross was the head coach of the Opens program from 2016-2023 and took the team to several grand finals. They lifted the trophy in 2018.
This year, she is still closely linked to the franchise but has taken on more of a mentoring role.
“I've had Amber as a coach for a few years now and she's very special,” White said.
“She believes in all her players, always wants them to be the best they can and is constantly looking for things that can help them improve – whether that's on the court or off the court.
“Amber is also very strong on team culture and I think that's shown in her results, because she's made three grand finals straight at nationals and won two of them.
“I'm very grateful to have her in my corner and I definitely think there’s a few players that stuck around in the Opens set-up to play for longer than they anticipated because of her presence.”
Neither Central Coast side can make the finals this year. Heading into the final round, the Opens sit ninth with just three wins to their name, whilst the U23s sit eighth with five wins.
It’s been a tough campaign for the Opens in particular, after losing some of their experienced players and bringing through a younger generation that are still adjusting to the standard.
“Obviously we haven't been getting the results that we've wanted this year, but I think it's all about learning new things,” White said.
“It's a relatively new team, so we’re just building on our connections and we'll get there eventually. Each week we take something from the game that we can improve on.
“It’s just about sticking at it and making sure we don't give up.
“The U23s players that stepped up this year are giving it their best shot and working hard, so I’ve absolutely loved played with them.”
As part of the Australian U21 squad, White will complete a three-day training camp in Sydney this August, before heading to Fiji on tour.
In Suva they’ll compete against U21 teams from Fiji, New Zealand and Singapore between August 19-23 in preparation for the 2025 Netball World Youth Cup.
