MOST 16-year-olds would consider themselves hard done by studying five or six subjects at school.
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Throw in a bit of sport, maybe some other hobbies and hanging out with mates and you already have a fairly busy schedule.
But it’s a drive to go above and beyond that has seen Steph Gorman excel at both netball and basketball over the past 18 months.
Juggling training, studying up on her opposition and her textbooks, the teenager has quickly emerged as one of the area’s brightest emerging talents.
Gorman has compiled a list of achievements in that time that make for a pretty impressive sporting resume.
She’s twice represented Victoria at the Australian Junior Basketball Championships.
She’s earned a spot in the starting five for the Albury Wodonga Lady Bandits, competing against Olympic, WNBL and college level talent in the SEABL.
She’s also won an A-grade netball premiership in the Ovens and Murray with the Wodonga Bulldogs in 2015.
Now she’s been picked to represent the league in the O & M’s under 17 netball side.
It’s been a massive commitment, but Wodonga netball coach Kelli Moylan said it was one Gorman has taken in stride.
“She’s a fantastic kid, so coachable,” she said.
“She listens to everything you tell her, she really wants to improve.”
Moylan said the rising star had been quick to make an impression when she arrived at the Bulldogs ahead of last season.
“Last year was her first season with the Bulldogs, and she missed a little bit of the season with state basketball commitments,” she said.
“She played predominantly in the B-grade side initially, mostly because she needed court time.
“But she improve out of sight as the season wore on.
“She ended up playing in the premiership side, it was really impressive.
“The good thing about her as a netballer is that she’s so versatile.
“She played mostly in defence when she started in B-grade, but she played at wing attack in the grand final, a position she hadn’t really played throughout the year.”
While Moylan hasn’t seen as much of Gorman as she would have liked this season, she said her representative selection came as no surprise.
“She’s only been able to play the one game for us so far this season, we’ve got our fingers crossed she’ll be able to play some more later on in the year,” she said.
“I don’t think she expected to be in the starting five for the Bandits this season.
“She’s driven to succeed, but at the same time she’s very easygoing.”
Gorman’s stats for the Lady Bandits have been impressive, particularly for someone her age.
She’s shot 10.6 points per game at 44 per cent shooting, as well as two rebounds in roughly 25 minutes on court, helping the team off the SEABL scrapheap.
She's fantastic, she's so coachable. She really just wants to improve everything she does.
- Kelli Moylan