Sam Crook (left) and Ashleigh Kaye enjoy a light workout.
Five years ago, the family of Bundaberg netballer Samantha (Sam) Crook successfully applied for a $200 Young Athletes Assistance Program (YAAP) grant to help allay the costs involved in her competing at the Queensland Netball Challenge Carnival in Maroochydore.
The funding support was a boost to a promising playing career. But last year this career came to a sudden stop, when a bad shoulder injury put Sam on the sidelines.
With time to spare, Sam took up coaching, soon gaining her qualification badge and taking under her wing local teams of 12 and 13-year-olds.
And in May 2011, the now first-year university student was chosen by the Bundaberg Netball Association to coach the under 12 second team at the Queensland Netball Challenge Carnival, this time held in Townsville, for which her parents again successfully applied for a YAAP grant!
Sam flew to Townsville for the long-weekend event, sharing a charter flight with her good friend Ashleigh Kaye — “who I played netball with since we were both nippers”.
Sam’s mother Janelle takes up the story.
“Not only Sam but two young Bundy players also received grants for the trip, which took a lot of the pressure off their parents,” Janelle says.
“Extending this assistance program to junior officials has been fantastic for our family in such a tough year.
“It’s been a very expensive period because the association’s Kendall Flats headquarters were flooded and lost all of its equipment and trophies.”
Sport and Recreation Services was able to assist the Bundaberg Netball Association through its Flood Fightback and infrastructure funding programs, providing more than $200,000 to help with the recovery efforts, including replacement of equipment and repairs to the Kendall Flats courts.
Footnote: Sam Crook hopes to resume her playing career in 2012 after a second shoulder operation.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Australia License