It’s been a long journey but Pakenham netballer Karyn Howarth is flying high after her recent selection in the Australian Diamonds squad. 85017 Picture: Getty Images
By DAVID NAGEL
THE Beatles classic, The Long and Winding Road sums up perfectly the journey of Pakenham netballer Karyn Howarth after the star goaler was recently selected in the 22-player Australian Diamonds squad.
“This could take a while,” Howarth says when asked to explain what on the surface looks to be a rapid rise to netball’s ultimate level.
The 26-year-old (…and only last week she adds) was born in Melbourne then moved to the Northern Territory as a two-year-old where her parents worked in the Air-Force. At nine it was off to Alice Springs, where her love for the sport developed, before a scholarship with the NTIS at 15 meant she left her parents behind and headed back to Darwin and boarding school.
But wait… there’s more!
In 2005 she began her elite netball career with the Queensland Firebirds in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy (CBT), and then had stints with the AIS Canberra Darters and the Hunter Jaegers, also in the CBT.
The advent of the ANZ Championships in 2008 saw many players left out in the cold and left the then Karyn Bailey without a club. She moved to Melbourne and played three years with Monash Central before her big break came last year.
“After all that travelling I played one year with Pakenham and things started to happen,” Howarth said. “Pakenham must be my lucky club.”
Howarth now lives in Pakenham and played last year with the Lions to meet new people and just have a bit of fun. She was snapped up by the Melbourne Vixens for the 2012 ANZ Championship season and hasn’t looked back from there.
“I have to pinch myself right now,” she said.
“Eight months ago I didn’t have a club and then I get so much court time with the Vixens, and then play in a grand final.
“That was enough but then to get picked in the Australian squad has just made it a huge year all round. The whole experience has just been a privilege,” she said.
Howarth was part of the Vixens grand-final team that lost to Waikato/Bay of Plenty Magic at Hi-Sense arena on 22 July, she now travels to Canberra to meet her new national team-mates at a training camp from the 8-11 of August.
“I can’t wait, to train and play with the best is just going to be a great experience,” she said.
“I’m just going to embrace the whole thing and even if I don’t make the cut I’ll have an idea of the intensity and work ethic that I need to make it.”
Another step on the long and winding road is about to take place for Karyn Howarth.
Footnote – The Diamonds will soon play a quad-series against New Zealand, England and South Africa.
