Robyn shooting for the top

Tu Tangata, Issue 19, 1 August 1984, Page 17

Robyn shooting for the top

Claudette Hauiti

Determination, confidence and a supportive family have gone into the making of 16-year-old Robyn Manuel, the youngest member of the Auckland netball team chosen recently.

Robyn sees her selection for the national tournament in Timaru as an ideal opportunity to develop as a player. ‘I am young,’ she says, ‘and have so much to learn. ‘This is a good opportunity for me to watch and learn from more experienced players, like fellow Aucklander Te Aroha Clarke and Wellington’s Margaret Matenga.’ Training for the tall Aorere College sixth-former consists of early morning runs, club sessions and practising her shooting at a net fixed to the garage at her home in Mangere East. ‘I shoot until I feel good,’ says Robyn, ‘until I know I will get the goals in on Saturdays.’ Suggestions come from sister Emily, with whom she shares the shooting with in her Panmure side, and also from her mother, Trudy, a former Auckland rep-

resentative herself. Emily, an up-and-coming softball player, is described by her sister as brilliant. ‘She helps me a lot with different moves and with training,’ says Robyn. And what of the future for this 16-year-old? At school she is an above-average pupil with six good passes in school certificate. This ability is reflected in her maturity on the court. Auckland coach Yvonne Willering says the Panmure goal-attack was chosen because of her skills as an individual player and her ability to work in a combination with others. Panmure coach Marlene Flavell says: ‘Robyn is an intelligent and mature person for her age and she plays a very hard and determined game. ‘l’m sure she has the ability to grab any opportunties that come her way and use them to her advantage.’ For Robyn the ultimate goal is the New Zealand team. But for the moment she is thrilled to have taken the first major step along the way.