New Vixen steps up

Volume 10 Number 6 June 9 - July 13 2014

Jo Weston (right) in action.
Jo Weston (right) in action.

 

Commerce student Jo Weston has firmly established herself as one of Australian netball’s players for the future in her first season with the Melbourne Vixens, writes David Scott.

“It’s definitely been a big step up for me in terms of the level of competition,” reflects Jo Weston, when asked about her first season in the ANZ Championship, Australia and New Zealand’s peak netball competition. 

“It’s definitely a step up in intensity from what I’ve played previously, but it inspires me to get better and show my wares when I’m on the court.”

The Australian under-21 representative has every reason to be positive; at time of writing the Vixens were on top of the table with just a few weeks to go until the finals, and as part of the national team for the Fast 5s World Series last year, Ms Weston is primed for a breakout finals campaign.

“It’s pretty overwhelming, coming from my first netball camp in Canberra in 2011 where I was offered an Australian Institute of Sport scholarship, to now. To be in a position to play sport, and play sport that I love, it’s pretty phenomenal.”

It’s been a rapid rise for Ms Weston since that fateful invitation. From a starring role on her school team – “we were called the Sac Shooters,” she laughs, acknowledging her alma mata of Sacre Coeur – to increasingly bigger roles in the Victorian under 17, under 19 and under 21 teams. She made the Australia under 21 squad in 2012, before being selected in the Australian Fast5 Diamonds squad in 2013.

The presence of experienced Vixens and Australian representatives Bianca Chatfield and Madi Robinson has helped fast track her development both on and off the court. 

“I used to look up to both Bianca and Madi when I was just starting out, so to play alongside them is really a dream come true.”

“They’re great with their guidance, having grown up at a time when Australian netball didn’t have the mainstream media coverage that it does now, so they’ve taught me a lot about handling myself as an athlete.

“We’re still not a fully professional sport – most players need a job alongside their time with the squad – and both Bianca and Madi have been incredible role models on this front.”

Ms Weston is one of nearly 200 athletes supported by Melbourne University Sport’s Elite Athlete program. One of the biggest university elite athlete programs in the country, the program aims to provide flexible study assistance to recognised elite or emerging athletes, and provide them with financial and in-kind assistance. 

For Ms Weston, the transition from social netballer to professional athlete and full time student has been a relatively smooth one. “Given I’ve been playing sport from a young age, I think I’m quite adept now at managing my time, and I’m quite lucky we play mostly on weekends.

“It’s more about just making up the study time I would have had if I wasn’t competing than it is making up classes, but the University has been very helpful regardless.”

www.melbournevixens.com.au/joanna-weston

 

www.sport.unimelb.edu.au