Taree High School's Abby Watts gave herself no chance of making the NSW All Schools under 16 girls' hockey team. At 13 she was by far the youngest player chosen to attend trials held in Newcastle earlier this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
"I was just going for experience,'' she admitted. "Just to see what it's like a that level.''
Abby played centre half for the Combined High School side in trials against Combined Independent Schools and Combined Catholic Colleges. She was surprised when she gained a place in the Possibles/Probables game and then shocked when her name was read out in the NSW team.
Abby is the Manning River Times-Iguana Sportstar of the Week, earning a $50 open order at Iguana.
Not surprisingly, Abby is the youngest player in the squad. NSW will play in the Australian All Schools Championships to be held at Newcastle from August 3 to 10. An Australian side will be chosen at the conclusion, however, Abby gives herself little chance of making the team. She's likely to get further opportunities in the future to impress selectors in the next few years.
She's played for NSW previously although on this occasion she'll be a lot closer to home.
When she was 11 in 2017 Abby was named in the NSW under 12s team to play in the Australian championships in Perth. Later that year she was selected in the NSW under 12 girl's team that went to Adelaide for the Pan Pacific Schools Games. Here NSW finished runner up to Queensland by a point, Abby scoring three goals in six games.
Last year a broken hand that sidelined her for six weeks ended her chances of earning a place in the NSW under 13s.
Abby's enjoying a busy year on the field at representative and domestic level.
She is in her debut season as a member of the Town division one women's team in the Manning competition. Town is the defending premier.
Abby also played for Manning under 18 girl's team in the State division two championships played in Taree this month. Manning swept through to pool rounds and semi-final undefeated but lost a hard fought grand final 1-0 to Nepean.
Related:
Abby heads to Wagga with the Manning side next month for the NSW under 15 championships. She's also been selected in the Hunter open girl's team to play in the State Combined High Schools titles. Her elder sister, Lara, is also in the side.
Hunter has won the championship for the past four years, while Abby is also a member of Taree High's team defending the State CHS title they've won for the past two seasons.
A versatile athlete, Abby also shows promise in touch football, cricket and athletics, but rates hockey the number one.
