Defender Mia Pearson has been named in a Netball New Zealand emerging talent squad. Photo suppliedUp and coming Mid Canterbury netball player Mia Pearson has gained the attention of Netball New Zealand’s emerging talent selectors.

Ashburton College student Pearson has been named in a 50-strong squad of players to attend a development camp in Auckland early next year where she will get the opportunity to learn and be guided by some of the best players in the land.

The group of athletes will be split into five teams to be coached by Pathway to Podium coaches Irene van Dyk, Jo Morrison, Temepara Bailey, Sandra Edge and Anna Galvan.

The head coaches will be joined by five apprentice coaches in the Performance Coach Qualification pathway while umpires and umpire coaches have also been invited to attend the four-day camp.

Pearson is the only local player to have been included in the squad and one of only nine players from the Mainland Netball Zone which covers most of Canterbury.

Netball New Zealand Head of High Performance Keir Hansen said the National Development Camp would give the athletes an insight into the Netball New Zealand pathway.

“For many, this is their first step into that elite environment and an opportunity for us to inspire our developing players building towards their future,” he said.

Athletes will undergo a series of movement competency screenings to assess their readiness for performance.

The group will be observed on their performance under pressure with a highly competitive short tournament structure to be employed during the camp.

“This is a best on best environment where our Emerging Talent Selectors will be able to continue profiling our future pathway athletes,” Hansen said.

Selection into the camp was based on identification, observation and tracking from the selectors through various national and regional age-group tournaments, along with feedback from Zone Performance staff.

© The Ashburton Guardian - 21 November 2019