TRAVELLING from Victoria-New South Wales border into Melbourne multiple times a week would take a toll on any person.

Numerous hours in the car, training for two hours, then having to drive back. It’s an endless cycle.

Mia Lavis has learnt to adapt to that being from the country town of Howlong, but she appreciates where she’s from and finds the quieter and slower lifestyle comforting.

“I’ve definitely loved growing up in the country, it’s not really remote, but it’s removed from the big cities and it’s made me appreciate where I’m from,” Lavis told Rookie Me Central.

Lavis began her netball journey with Howlong Football Netball Club Under 12s then moved over to her current club the Wodonga Raiders in the Ovens and Murray Football Netball League. She was then selected into the netball program at Bendigo Academy of Sport as a 14-year-old and accepted into the northeast talent academy.

The next stop was to play for Victoria. It was a bit of a rough time for Lavis not making it into the final squad as a bottom-age player for Under 17s, but she saw it as an opportunity to keep on improving.

“That was probably a big turning point, I was pretty disappointed after that. I made myself promise that I would come back bigger and better next year,” she said.

“When I was trialling for top-age 17s, I had a stress fracture in my leg so I thought I wasn’t going to be back in time for state trials. I was freaking out and I wasn’t at my fittest or my best, but I managed to sneak through with state trials.”

“There were the floods in northeast Victoria, so they actually delayed the final selection, which worked in my favour because I was able to get some fitness back up and was going to feel a bit confident heading into (state trials).”

It all came together as Lavis put on the navy blue dress to represent Victoria. In the blink of an eye, she was on a flight to Trinidad and Tobago to play for Australia in the Commonwealth Youth Games.

Lavis got an early taste of the green and gold being part of the inaugural fast five team in 2023 and said it was an experience like no other.

“They chose from the two [Australian] squads, so the Under 17s and the Under 19s and basically the Aussie selectors at nationals in Darwin last year, I think they were putting a team together from watching all the games,” Lavis said.

“I then got an email a week or two after nationals to see the Trinbago email and I wasn’t sure what it was because they just said ‘confidential’ and then they started to send through more information.

“We had no idea that they were selecting for the Aussie team, so it was a nice surprise.”

Getting to play netball for your country is what many players dream of, with Lavis dreaming of playing in the green and gold ever since she was young, but she found the overall experience of being in a new country the best part of the tournament.

The gold medallist pointed out the best part being a whole new cultural experience, trying the food and the opening ceremony as her highlights with the ceremony incorporating various cultural dances and performances.

Everyone stayed at a resort that was reserved for athletes and coaches and they got to meet athletes from other countries.

“It was hands down the best experience ever,” Lavis said. “It’s also going overseas, getting to go to a different place because I don’t think I’d ever go there if it wasn’t for the Comm Youth Games.”

“Fast five adds a type of excitement to it as well. I’m just very happy we came away with that gold medal.

“There was a lot of expectation and pressure on us to obviously come away with the win as there is with the Diamonds, they want Australia to be the best.”

Lavis answered a call for help from North East Blaze. They needed a shooter and knew of her abilities. Without being a training partner, Lavis played one game and knew that Blaze was the place to be. Having never played VNL before, Lavis wanted to know what it was like and if it was right for her, and indeed it was.

Head coach Kate Upton rang the young shooter one day, remembering her performance last season to go along with an excellent resume, and wanted to sign Lavis for the 2024 season.

The answer was an immediate yes.

Lavis was initially signed as a part of the under 23s team but quickly made her champ debut in the second round and stayed there until her back injury.

“Kate’s not afraid to just chuck you out there and just see how you go,” Lavis said.

“The only way you’ll get experience is being out on court, and we only had two or three shooters for Champ anyway, and the team shifts and changes with injuries and availability.”

Lavis’ VNL season came to a halt after suffering multiple stress fractures in her lower back.

“When I first started to notice that something was wrong, I just thought it was like a bit of bruising or just a bit of muscular pain, I thought it was nothing serious,” she said.

“I just kept training and training and it’s an overload injury until eventually I couldn’t walk properly.

“I went and got scans and it was quite a shock. I wasn’t expecting it to be that serious.”

The timing of her injury wasn’t great as Lavis had just been named in the Vic Fury squad to play in the SSN Reserves.

Over the last few years of the Vic Fury, they have taken the initiative of having experienced players while bleeding through young talent. Eighteen-year-old Lavis is one of those rookies who never expected to read out an email saying “congratulations”.

Her heart just stopped.

“Every VNL player got the email to put forward their name for it,” Lavis said. “I thought I might as well just put my name forward. I wasn’t expecting anything to happen really.”

“I got the email before one of my VNL games so I couldn’t tell them straight away, I was bursting to tell mum when we got back in the car.

The 2025 season is just on the horizon, and Lavis is looking to end her time as a state representative on a high and make it as an Under 19s top-age player. But first, she has to get back out on the court and return to her fittest form.

“Having this time off to really focus and being in the gym to strengthen up all the key areas are going to help me in the long run,” Lavis said.

“Hopefully next year when I return, I’ll be bigger and stronger.

“Next year I just want to be mentally and physically fit and ready and just attack next season and whatever happens.”