Rotorua Girls' High School under-15 seven's team captain Te Aomihi Williams Paul. Photo/Stephen Parker
You may think that Rotorua Girls' High School student Te Aomihi Williams Paul is feeling the pressure ahead of the North Island Secondary Schools Sevens.
Te Aomihi, 14, is captaining her school's under-15 team, winners of the annual two day competition in their age group last year, for the first time tomorrow and Saturday at the Rotorua International Stadium.
But Te Aomihi is used to performing on the big stage. The talented player was part of that champion team and has represented the under-16 New Zealand touch and under-18 Bay of Plenty Sevens sides.
The Year 10 student said she was feeling confident despite leading a relatively new team.
Te Aomihi added the under-15 side would be without several key players who were competing in the national waka ama championships at Tikitapu (Blue Lake) and the Secondary Schools National 3x3 basketball tournament.
"We can win it this year," Te Aomihi said. "It will be a bit harder because of all the new people that have come into the squad - we've lost a lot who have moved up age groups but all the new players have picked up skills very fast and I think we'll do well."
The Rotorua Girls' High School team have tough competition to retain their crown - with Hamilton Girls' High School, Tauranga Girls' College and Long Bay College also vying for the top spot.
"The Tauranga girls will be ones to watch especially," said Te Aomihi. "They always have a strong team and I remember last year they pushed us all the way.
"For us to win we need to play together well as a team, not as individuals because that just mucks everything up. Our attack is looking very good - we've got some pretty fast players that could open up gaps for us but we need to work on our defence a bit though, it needs to be solid to stand any chance."
In total the competition will field 11 under-15 girls' teams and a further 14 under-19 girls' teams. Five of the girls' teams will compete in the development grade and nine in the open grade.
Rotorua will be represented in the women's under-19 development category by John Paul College. Tauranga Girls' College will be back to defend their under-19 girls' title in a tough grade and former champions Hamilton Girls' and Feilding are also ones to watch.
There are 12 under-15 boys' teams, with five making up the under-15 boys open grade and seven teams forming the under-15 boys' co-ed grade. Title holders Rotorua Boys' High School are not attending.
An added incentive will be the presence of the New Zealand Sevens talent identification team on finals day.
"I'm not trying to think too much about that because it puts me off my game," Te Aomihi admitted. "All I'm thinking about is the game and to try my hardest."
Te Aomihi said she was aiming for a big future in the sport with full backing from her school and family.
"I'm hoping to go very far in this sport because I love it. I want to play for my country. I really look up to Portia Woodman [Silver Ferns Sevens winger] it would be great to play off her one day."
Carol Holt, the Rotorua Girls' High School sports co-ordinator, added: "Te Aomihi has a great future ahead of her and is a prime example of how we are trying to develop youth here at the school.
"The focus at the moment is developing our youngsters, that's not just individuals but teams, so we have a succession of sides doing well rather than having one-offs.
"It's a big stage for the girls at the stadium but it won't be daunting for them. They have put in a lot of work - it's a very different team to last year - so I don't want to say too much about winning but hopefully the result will take care of itself."
The North Island Secondary Schools Sevens tournament draw and results, click here:
North Island Secondary Schools Sevens tournament:
Date: Friday and Saturday
Time: 10am - 5pm
Venue: Rotorua International Stadium