ALTONA'S Tayla Brooks is enjoying the time of her life on the netball court.
The 12-year-old centre displayed some exceptional form as the Victorian 12-and-under representative side finished runner-up to South Australian at the School Sports Australia championships at the Waverley Netball Centre.
She displayed fierce determination to take her place in the line-up after seriously injuring her ankle while playing for the Altona Gate under-15 side in the Altona Netball Association less than a week before the first game.
The champ's proud father David admits to being stunned by her remarkable recovery.
"She's very, very determined. We were icing it every two hours. She somehow got herself back on court," he said.
Brooks was thrilled to represent her state in the sport she lives and breathes.
"I was really excited when they read my name out. At the start, I couldn't really believe it," she said.
"[I was thinking] I've kind of got to do the best I can because it was a really good opportunity.
"I was really nervous [before the first game], but after I got it under my belt, I settled in more. I loved every minute of playing for Victoria."
The youngster gives it everything when she plays.
"I like to never give up. I keep on running and giving options," she said. She remembers falling in love with netball aged eight after going to games to watch her older sister Carly play.
"I was supporting her," she recalled. "She ended up hurting her ankle in a game and I got asked to fill in because there was no one else.
"I really loved playing. Everything [about it] really."
She added it's been like that since.
"It's never no when it comes to netball. I'm always happy to go," she said.
Brooks doesn't hesitate in nominating Australian under-21 centre/wing attack Madison Browne as her netball idol.
"She's so much smaller than the other players. She's got so much determination when she goes for the ball," she said.
Another favourite is Australian Diamonds goal defence Julie Corletta.
She has some big dreams.
"I'd love to make the big time. To play for Australia when I'm older," she said.
Brooks receives tremendous support from her parents David and Debbie, sister Carly, 16, and her grandmother Joan James.
"They mean the world to me," she said. "They help me through everything I do with my netball."
It's a sporting life for Brooks, who is also an accomplished runner and high jumper with Westona at the Altona Little Athletics Centre.
She's gunning for the 400-metre record in the under-13 girls. "I've nearly got there. I've got less than a second to get it," she said.
Brooks received a big thrill when she was a member of the gold medal winning 100-metre relay team in the under-11 division at the Victorian Junior Championships at Olympic Park. "She ran the final leg with seven boys and held 'em off. We've got a great photograph of it," her father said.
Her parents aren't surprised with her talent for sport given her incredible bloodlines.
Brooks' late uncle Ronnie James was a superb sportsman, who excelled in football in particular.
He was snapped up by the then Footscray Football Club (now the Western Bulldogs) after making his senior debut aged 14 with Williamstown in a grand final in the old Victorian Football Association in 1985.
James was poised to blossom into a fine onballer for the Bulldogs until he was tragically killed in a water-skiing accident.
Brooks carries the middle name of Roni as a tribute to her famous uncle.
Her mother insists her daughter "has got a lot of Ronnie in her".
It's a juggling act for Brooks, who is a year 7 student at Mount St Josephs Girls School in Altona North.
She also enjoys reading and "kicking back on the couch and watching a movie" with her beloved family.
Email a friend