Wairarapa teenage hockey prodigies Kellie Browne and Sarah Crofoot head to Nelson on Saturday, having been selected to play for Capital in the National Under-21 Tournament.
Simply being named in the squad of 15 shows how highly they are rated, as the team is selected from throughout Wellington, Nelson, Wairarapa and
the Kapiti Coast and includes players in the calibre of recent Black Sticks trialist Anita Punt.
Crofoot and Browne, aged 16 and 17 respectively, are two of the youngest members in the team and expect the tournament to be a big step up from what they have experienced previously.
"A lot of the players who play under 21s are age-group representatives and there are even Black Sticks in some of the teams," Browne, who captains the Wairarapa College first XI, said.
"It's a whole step up in skill level and it's pretty fast."
Browne, who plays fullback, does not know yet whether she will make the starting 11 but there is more certainty for Crofoot as she is the sole goalkeeper selected for the team.
The young St Matthew's and Dalefield star is looking forward to the challenge, though she knows she will be on the receiving end of some fairly quick balls.
"It's pretty exciting," she said.
"I didn't expect to be selected, I hadn't really though about it too hard until they rang and told me."
The duo made the cut after attending a mini-tournament in Taupo in April, where they did enough to make an impression on coach Malcolm McFadden.
Their first game pits them against the strong Aucklanders on Sunday, with matches to follow against Canterbury, Southland, Midlands, Central, Northland and Southland.
The tournament concludes next weekend, with the Junior Black Sticks side named after the final.
But before Crofoot and Browne embark for the big event, they have to face off against each other for their respective schools in the big first XI showdown this afternoon.
Browne is confident her side has it in the bag, but to do so she will have to find a way passed her new team-mate.
