Rebekah a tenpin strike force at 16

Rebekah Baxter, Hawke's Bay tenpin bowler, ponders her chances of international play. Photo / Warren Buckland

Rebekah Baxter's progress on the national tenpin bowling scene has fellow Hawke's Bay players churning out the superlatives.

Despite being eligible for the youth grades for another five years, the Hastings Girls' High School 16-year-old is already making an impact at open level and has become the first Hawke's Bay female to be selected in the New Zealand Youth training squad.

"This young lady is a potential future star," Bay stalwart Preston Epplett said.

Spend five to 10 minutes with her and it's easy to see why. She has maturity beyond her years and places a huge emphasis on mental preparation.

"It's all in your head. If you get taken down it's always mental. If you don't have a good mental game you're not going to get anywhere," Baxter said.

During the recent Wellington Open, Baxter, who has been playing for six years, competed in the women's graded division and was a member of the winning mixed team, finished second in the women's singles, women's masters and overall women's graded championship and was third in the women's graded all events section.

At last year's national youth championships, Baxter experienced spectacular success, winning the girls' all events, singles and teams titles and second placings in the girls' doubles and open national championship. She was also presented with an All Star award for the third-best female.

As a 15-year-old competing against adults in last year's Hawke's Bay championship, Baxter was a member of the winning mixed fours team, the second-placed women's doubles team and third-placed women's team and women's scratch masters team.

It isn't surprising she is pondering some international tournaments. She will get a gauge of her readiness at her first national youth squad regional camp in Wellington this weekend.

A former ballet dancer and horse rider, Baxter agreed those experiences assisted with her co-ordination in tenpin. She was introduced to the sport by her mother, Raewyn.

"Mum played in a league and I would come down to the Superstrike centre in Hastings and watch. I thought it would be quite fun and got involved through a junior league. I then introduced my dad Darryl to tenpin.

"With my grandparents [Evelyn and Alastair Forbes] also playing, it's a real family affair for us," Baxter said.

"It took me just under a year to start beating mum," she recalled.

Baxter, who is coached by Matt Lovell and Barb Nonu, will attend three regional camps with the national squad this year. This weekend's camp will involve five hours of play on Sunday.

Considering the amount of time she spends playing and training, this shouldn't be a problem. On Mondays she plays four games in one league and on Wednesdays six in another.

Whenever she has free time, Baxter will be found training at Superstrike. Her next major tournament is the Kapiti Classic in Wellington this month.

"I'm planning on going to Victoria University to do a Bachelor of Arts degree in future but I will continue to play tenpin ... I'm in the sport for the long haul."

There's no doubt superlatives will continue to flow Baxter's way for many years to come.