My name is Amy Metcalf and I am in my second year studying a Bachelors degree of Environmental Management at USC Sunshine Coast. I live in Redcliffe however I spend the majority of my time on the Sunshine Coast where I like to surf and spend time with friends at the beach. I am currently in the 2020 U19 Qld Netball team and will be competing at Nationals in Hobart in April this year. I am also currently in the selection process for the semi-professional USC Thunder Sapphire and Ruby Series Teams that compete against other clubs from across the state.

My netball journey:

• Started playing netball at age 5 in Redcliffe (2006).
• Played representative netball at Caboolture Netball Association (CNA) from age 12-15 (2013-2016).
• Netball Queensland Academy 2015.
• Played Queensland Premier League for CNA from age 15-16 (2016-2017).
• 2018- Brought up from being a training partner to a team member for the u/19 Sunshine Coast Lynx Team (During grade 12).
• 2019- USC Thunder Ruby series team and u/18 Thunder team (During first year of Uni at USC).
• 2020- u/19 Queensland State Netball Team & currently in USC Thunder squad (Team TBA).

I have applied to be a part of the USC High Performance Program this year to gain support in balancing my study load, training load and competition events. To be able to have access to specialist information in nutrition, preparation and recovery and the high performance fitness facilities at the USC Sippy Downs Campus would be beneficial to my academic and sporting goals. I would like to meet other people who are also juggling studying, sport and careers as well, to learn about their experiences and what has helped them to achieve in all areas.

Each level of netball I play has a structured strength and conditioning plan that aims to have me peaking in fitness at the right time, for instance with my current Qld program, it aims to have my team peaking at the time of Nationals (April 16^th-23^rd).  I am also closely monitored through the ‘Athlete Monitoring System’ (AMS) each day for my well-being and training logs.  This is to ensure I am not putting too much strain on my body and increasing my risk of injury.  Currently, for the Qld team, I have either one to two, or four to six hours of team training each week involving game-play and theory sessions as well.  As part of my Qld Team preparation, there are two gym sessions and two conditioning sessions a week. This is the same with the Thunder Team however, the season is a lot longer than Nationals so the aim is to have us maintain a good level of strength and fitness and even continue to build on it throughout the season. For Thunder this season, I will be doing two, two hour team training sessions a week as well as two gym and conditioning sessions a week at the USC Stadium and High Performance Gym Facilities.

– Amy Metcalf 

You can read more about the HPSA program and how to apply here!