Carstens enjoying debut TNL season
Western Cape midcourt player, Adriana Carstens is having a dream debut in the Telkom Netball League (TNL). After just three rounds of the TNL, she has produced four player of the match performances which have been critical in the team’s run so far.
Just last year in August, the 18-year-old was playing in the final of the DStv Schools Netball Challenge for her team, Paarl Girls High School which lost the gold medal to Free State’s C&N Sekondêre Meisieskool Oranje.
Although Carstens has been impressive so far this season, she says she didn’t think her senior debut would turn out this way.
“It’s very fun. I am enjoying it a lot. The netball is harder and obviously much more competitive but that is what I enjoy. The fact that I am not used to playing at this level yet, the intensity of the other players, they have much more experience. It’s a big tournament, one of the biggest we have in the country. It’s a big privilege but I do feel like in some of those games there were players that deserved it more. I am very thankful but I couldn’t have achieved that without the team. It’s because of them that I got those opportunities and that I could reach those goals. I was very excited (with the first award) and I was almost caught off guard but it felt amazing to know that the team wanted me to get that. They almost encouraged it, it was very nice,” she says.
Carstens says she is grateful for the guidance that the young players are receiving from the senior players in the team. She says they have made her transition to senior provincial netball easier.
“The fact that most of our senior players have played in the TNL before helps a lot. They prepared us very well to know what to expect when going to court. Still, that first game was a big shock, the contact and the speed of the ball and everything else but they are very helpful. They keep us calm and they are empowering to us. If I see a big name player, someone that has played for SAs you kind of get a big fright but they just tell us to remember that they are just a person (like me) and they play the same game we do and tell us to just play our own game,” she says.
She says the team hopes to get promoted to Division One of the TNL come the end of the season.
“Our team gelled very early even though we didn’t know each other for very long, when we got on court it was just easy. It was nice. We have an end goal, we would like to move up to the first division so we are working very hard to achieve that goal but we are also just taking it step by step. Playing game for game, seeing how it goes but I do believe that our team can achieve it if we put our minds to it. We have fitness, skills, and the coaching. I am pretty sure that if we keep ourselves composed, keep our feet on the ground we will do good,” she says.
Although the TNL serves as a good platform for national team selectors to spot players for the various national teams, Carstens says she is focused on doing well in the TNL but hopes it will someday open the door to either the Baby Proteas or Spar Proteas squad.
“I really do hope so. This is a good platform to make your name if you want to achieve more in sports. I want to do that but I still have a long way to go. There are a lot of ranks you have to climb up to achieve your end goal. I am just focusing on this tournament, to play my heart out for the Tornados then I will see what happens after that,” she says.
The TNL resumes with the Tornados second in the Division Two log standings following their first defeat of the season. They will be looking to bounce back to winning ways in the four day league weekend when they face the KwaZulu Natal Kingdom Queens, the Northern Cape Diamonds, and newcomers Limpopo Lilies before they end their action packed weekend against the Eastern Cape Comets.
Meanwhile, crosstown rivals from Gauteng, the Jaguars, and the Golden Fireballs will set the Heartfelt Arena on fire on Friday night for the return match of the season. Defending champions, Fireballs walked away as winners in the opening round of the competition with a 45-40 win over the five-time champions who will be hoping to bounce back.
The Jaguars will also face the Western Cape Southern Stings and the KwaZulu Natal Kingdom Stars as they work to cement a place in the top four in Division One.
