Netball: Parris Petera's training run turns into Central Manawa stint

Napier Girls' High School Senior A wing attack Parris Petera, coupled with her agility, brings a physical presence on the netball court that caught the eye of Beko selectors. Photo / File

Give and take an "r" or two, the Central Manawa netball team is blessed with Paris to the power of three when they embark on their Beko Netball League campaign next month.

That's because wing attack/centre Parris Petera, of Hawke's Bay, is among a muster of 16 for Central Manawa that include wing defence/centre Paris Lokotui and goal keep/goal defence Parris Mason.

Lokotui is from Wellington while Mason hails from Taranaki but attends the Manukura netball academy school that championship-winning Central Pulse coach Yvette McCausland-Durie runs in Palmerston North.

But this story is about a 17-year-old from Otane in Central Hawke's Bay whose induction requires her to commute to the capital city every Tuesday after school.

Thursday is an option but it's not compulsory following an invitation to join a training session for secondary schools' honours.

"It was strange that I was asked the day before just to go for a run and then they ended up calling me, which was pretty cool," says Petera of making the cull a fortnight ago to a league that is fundamental to strengthening Netball New Zealand's performance pathway for emerging talent.

"I didn't think it was going to happen so soon but it's definitely something I had dreamt of."

Parris Petera prefers the wing attack position because of it's short, sharp explosive nature. Photo / file

Fellow Napier Girls' High School first team player Ashleigh Poi also was invited but "she couldn't make it", according to the Year 13 pupil of an opportunity that puts her a tier below Central Pulse aspirations in the ANZ Premiership, the country's elite netball competition.

"It was really exciting," says the teenager who got a call from Central Manawa performance manager Pelesa Semu on a Sunday. "I didn't know what to say, to be honest."

So is Petera's inclusion going to create a calamity of sorts with three people responding at the same time when their Christian name — shared with the capital of France — is yelled out during scrimmages?

No, evidently not in a sporting ecosystem where — akin to tagging wildlife for scientific purposes — monikers often eclipse proper names for life although when mothers tend to address them by their birth names it pays to be on guard.

"I'm known as Paz, Paris Lokotui is 'P' and Parris Mason is just Parris," says Petera before the six-team league begins on March 21 involving the Northern Marvels, Northern Comets, Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty, Mainland and Southern Blast over a 12-week, round-robin competition.

Sixteen of the 25 Beko League games will be televised live on Sky Sport, culminating with the grand final at the TSB Arena in Wellington on June 21.

Central Manawa host the Southern Blast at the TSB Arena on Sunday, March 22, from 4.10pm, in their opener.

Petera has been relishing the training and team bonding sessions since her involvement a fortnight ago.

"The intensity is way higher and a big difference but so good," she says.

Lokotui, a Pulse training partner, and Mason, a good secondary school mate, are the familiar faces for her.

What resonates with Petera at the Beko League level is how the mental, recovery and nutrition aspects of their development is emphasised rather than flogging the technical and tactical processes of refining their constitution.

"[It's good] especially with the recovery and nutrition side where you have to make sure you eat post-training — 30 minutes after," she says, revealing they are offered chocolate-flavoured milk or bananas.

A chuckling Petera discloses she wasn't always the best in what she was putting into her body but is smartly making the adjustments to ensure her engine will be humming at the optimum level at the height of the competition.

Mum Annemarie Kupa's definitely the word for Parris Petera who is making leaps and bounds in her netball career. Photo / file

She isn't sure when it'll start but there'll be some scrimmages against the Pulse squads.

NGHS first team have ruled the Bay secondary schools' league under the tutelage of Petera's mother, Annemarie Kupa, and New Zealand secondary schools' coach, Charissa Barham.

They also have left their calling card with back-to-back Karamu Holden Super 8 crowns during the premier women's club competition when it ended in August last year.

Petera doesn't anticipate any disruptions to her school and club commitments during the Beko League stint although her seniority is crucial with the departure of captain Janayah Lewis who is attending university.

The New Zealand Maori secondary schools' representative says it's going to be tough with the demands of school work but believes she can take them in her stride.

No doubt, she has invested countless hours in her overall development — something Kupa and Barham monitor with encouragement and enthusiasm.

Attaining a desirable level of fitness demands six days a week of dedication including running, aerobics and anaerobics (short, sharp interval) training as well as a couple of body-weight strength sessions in the gym.

Petera prefers to slip on wing attack bib because of its robustness although she is mindful the centre position requires a marginally higher level of fitness as well as 360-degree cohesiveness.

The former Parkvale School reflects on a childhood inspiration when her mother and aunties Tammy and Rebecca Kupa were hustling on the Super 8 courts for then perennial powerhouses Otane Thirsty Whale.

"I remember playing alongside mum with Otane for the first time and it was really, really cool so I had enjoyed that and now I'm here," she says.

New Zealand secondary school and NGHS coach Charissa Barham has been instrumental in helping Parris Petera carve a niche in netball. Photo / file

BEKO schedule

Central Manawa games only (all Sunday unless stated otherwise):

• March 22: v Southern Blast, TSB Arena, Wellington, 4.10pm.

• March 29: v Northern Comets, Pulman Arena, Auckland, 2.10pm.

• April 5: v Waikato Bay of Plenty, Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua, 2.10pm.

• Saturday, April 25: v Mainland, Walter Nash Stadium, Lower Hutt, 1.10pm.

• May 10: v Mainland, EA Networks Centre, Ashburton, 1.10pm.

• May 17: v Waikato Bay of Plenty, Claudelands Arena, Hamilton, 4.10pm.

• May 24: v Northern Marvels, TSB Arena, Wellington, 2.10pm.

• June 14: v Northern Marvels, Auckland Netball Centre, 12.10pm.

• June 21: Grand final, TSB Arena, Wellington, 2.10pm.