Victoria’s juniors are getting set for their first national competition when the Under 14 Girls’ Regional Championships begin this Saturday in Mirrabooka, WA.

Head Coach Sharon Jansen told SV Media, the girls have worked relentlessly in preparation for their first major interstate tournament.

“The girls have played plenty of organised ‘Fully Loaded’ practise games in preparation for the competition,” Jansen said.  

“We’ve been training really hard with batting practise on Thursdays and pitching and fielding on Tuesdays, we’re prepared to go away and play in the Perth heat.”

“The recovery sessions we have done to adapt to Mirrabooka’s hot weather will benefit the girls. They’re really excited to play the ‘Fully Loaded’ format, and put everything they’ve learned into practise,” she added.

The team is inexperienced when it comes to national level competition, but team leader Rachel Miller will use her experience from last year to help the girls get through the week.

“Only one player has played Nationals before (Rachel Miller), the rest of the team are new to the process of going away and will be experiencing that for the first time,” Jansen said.

“Rachel has that experience from last year, she knows what to expect and gives the girls insight into what she went through.”

“The entire support staff is very happy with the groups progress, Rachel, Tahuna Rhind-Luke and Taliah Kelly are a few of our players that we believe can have a strong impact – both on and off the diamond.”

The week will be split between ‘Fully Loaded’ matches and ‘Fastpitch’ matches.

Jansen is delighted with this structure in what she says will allow the entire team the opportunity to put their skills to the test.

“Two days will be Fully Loaded and the reminder of the week and the finals series which feature the Fastpitch format.”

“The Fully Loaded component is great because I think it gives every player a chance to get on the diamond and showcase their skills, and it’s a good introduction for the week going forward.”

“I would like to thank my support staff  -Terri Landt (Assistant Coach), Margaret Steendam (Manager) and Carolyn Di Paola (Statistician) for their support and we’re all looking forward to getting our campaign underway.”

Team list:

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