Now that Jamie van Wyk has tasted what it is like to sing the national anthem and take to the court for her country, she dreams of being in the Spar Proteas team that will play for glory at the 2023 Netball World Cup. Van Wyk earned her maiden cap in South Africa’s opening match of the 2021 Africa Netball Cup against neighbours Zimbabwe held in Windhoek, Namibia. It was a dream start for her senior career as the African champions went on to win the encounter 78-27.
Although it has almost been a year since her first senior cap, van Wyk has that memory tattooed onto her brain and can remember it as if it happened yesterday.
“I remember this feeling like it was yesterday,” she chuckles.
“The first time I played was last year November and I remember I was also writing a massive exam assignment that day, there was a lot of stress but I was like ‘submit your assignment and go to court.’ I remember singing the national anthem, standing in a line with all these senior players, people I look up to standing right behind me. I remember getting the feeling that ‘how am I here? How am I standing next to the best of the best in the country?’ I was getting goosebumps, it was a very emotional day. I was in the starting line-up but I was on the bench, to be honest, I didn’t expect to play because I was a junior then after the first quarter the coach (Dorette Badenhorst) said ‘Jamie, warm up!’ My heart just dropped and then I told myself this is it. I went on court and told myself that I should play and enjoy it and have fun. It turned out to be one of the best games for me, I was really proud of myself. It was definitely one for the books,” she remembers.
Now the University of Pretoria player dreams of playing in the biggest netball tournament when Cape Town welcomes the world for the global tournament.
“To this day I am still so proud to be called a Protea. I don’t take it lightly, I think it is such an honour to represent my country. It’s honestly such a blessing, I still can’t believe it. Because I am part of the Proteas squad, my goal is to be part of that World Cup team next year. That would be my ultimate goal but I am a person who takes it as it comes so that being my goal, we’ll see where that takes me after that,” she says.
The goal defence had made it into the Baby Proteas squad that was set to represent South Africa at the 2021 Netball World Youth Cup before World Netball announced its decision to cancel the tournament which was scheduled to take place in Fiji. As a young player in the Proteas squad, van Wyk says she is learning a lot from senior players that she grew up watching and idolising. Coach Badenhorst and her entire technical team have been cooking the squad for the upcoming international tournaments including the Diamond Challenge set for the 19-27 November and the Quad Series in early 2023.
“When we became contracted players there were a few camps that I went on, it was a very challenging environment because you are playing against the best of the best. It is a healthy
competition. You’re playing with senior players, it’s motivating, and inspiring and you learn so much from the training camps. One thing I can say is that the camps are very intense, you don’t play games. I mean we are in preparation for the World Cup. You work hard, you put in the extra hours, the extra one per cent that will push the team to be the best that they can be. I haven’t been part of the last couple of camps because of medical,” she says.
Although young herself, the Gauteng Jaguars player is already inspiring the next generation, the first being her younger sister Kylie. She hopes that someday, another van Wyk will earn her South African colours as well.
“Our conversations are very relatable, if you’re not an athlete you don’t really understand what we go through because she is also in a sporting environment our conversations are very relatable in the sense that we both sacrifice the same things. We both want to achieve the same things, she also wants to achieve what I have one day. Our conversations are very motivational and inspiring. I think what I do is give her a glimpse of hope that she can also achieve it one day. We played together in school, it was a bit strange at first but now we love it, especially at Tuks. I wish that I got the opportunity to play in the Varsity Cup with her because it would have been amazing. We get one another, we don’t even have to communicate on the court we kind of understand without even (verbally) communicating with one another,” she says.
As her senior international career with the Proteas continues to grow, she hopes someday she will be able to attract attention from overseas clubs.
“If the opportunity arises and comes in front of me, I will definitely consider it. It’s a huge opportunity to take because the amount of exposure you get there is completely different from the exposure we get in South Africa. If I went there, it would make my game grow so much and I would learn so much from all the different coaching and playing styles. It’s something I am definitely open to,” says van Wyk.