There's no better feeling in sport than getting to represent where you come from.
High performance sport often see athletes crossing regional, national and international borders to ply their trade, but sometimes the greatest opportunity is on your doorstep.
That's why UTS Randwick Spark, and QBE Swifts Academy player, Brooke Paterson loves playing for her side in the Origin Energy Premier League.
"I love being in the Sparks environment as it is very welcoming and it's driven by team culture," she says.
"Since 2018 I've worked my way up the Sparks pathway from firstly starting out as a training partner to now being a part of the Opens team, so it's a real testament to how Sparks really work on individual growth.
"Another reason I love the Sparks environment is that it has a real connection to the Junior clubs like Randwick Netball Association.
"Since being a Randwick Junior I love giving back to the Randwick community and inspiring other young athletes to become a future Spark."
The Sparks won a Premier League U23s title in 2020 and now Paterson has made the transition to the Opens setup. That can be daunting but luckily she has top support from the coaching ticket of Sharyn Hill and Ali Tucker.
Hill, a former Swift, and Tucker - a former Sydney Sandpiper and current GIANTS Academy coach - have been instrumental in Paterson's development.
"I love having Ali and Sharyn as my Spark coaches as they both bring different aspects to the coaching panel. They have both been a part of the elite pathway as athletes themselves, so they can relate and connect with us from an athlete's side of things.
"Ali works mainly on defence, so as a defender I love learning new tips and tricks that I can implement into my game.
"Sharyn works mainly on attack so really working and perfecting those basic skills. We are really lucky at Sparks to have two such experienced coaches that really know how to get the best out of us individually and perform as a team."
And by the sounds of it, things are going pretty well this year for the Sparks:
"We are really happy with how things are progressing for us, obviously a very long season ahead but the most pleasing thing for us this year is to see the consistency we have probably been missing over the other years," Paterson says.
"We have a lot of depth and a super strong 14 player squad with everyone able to step up when needed which we see as our strength for such a long and tough season ahead.
"The Under 23's have also picked up from where they left off by leading the comp with zero losses. They have welcomed a lot of new young talent who have fitted into the Sparks family very well.
"As a collective Sparks family, we are super excited for the season ahead and are just very grateful to get the opportunity to play in such a top competition."
The Premier League prides itself on being a High Performance competition to prepare NSW athletes for the rigours of professional netball with Netball NSW's two clubs: the NSW Swifts and GIANTS Netball.
Paterson is a proud member of the QBE Swifts Academy and has already had a taste of what it's like at the very top.
"I love being a part of the QBE Swift's Academy as it gets you prepared for what it's like to be an elite athlete performing in the Super Netball environment.
"It is also a great stepping stone in becoming a future Swift. I was lucky enough to travel to Hobart with the Swifts team for their pre-season match against Collingwood.
"It was such an amazing experience to play against some of the top netballers in the world and play alongside your idols like Maddy Turner. As an Academy we also had the opportunity to play against the NSW Swifts senior team and the Men’s NSW U23’s team which was a great mental and physical challenge.
"We have an incredible coaching staff that supports us both on and off the court to become the best athletes we can. What I also enjoy about this program is that it focuses on the off-court components as well as nutrition and mental well-being.
"My ultimate goal is to play at Super Netball level (hopefully for NSW Swifts) and also play for the Australian Diamonds."
Before she can shoot for the stars Paterson will contest the 2021 National Netball Championships in Hobart, where she will represent NSW 19/U. The COVID-19 pandemic put paid to last year's tournament so the Randwick junior is delighted to be making the trip south this year.
"I'm just excited to get out there and play since last year was cancelled due to COVID," she says.
"It is an honour to wear the Waratah dress and play against the top netballers in Australia for your age group. Since it is my final year for under-age Nationals I want to embrace every opportunity and hopefully bring home the gold with the best group of girls and support staff."
