Jennings delighted with her decision

Changing sports seems to have paid off for one former Rotorua sportswoman.

Aroha Jennings' main sport started off as netball but she later changed her focus to basketball and the trade has allowed the 19-year-old to live and learn abroad, play alongside some top players and travel all over the United States.

Jennings left for the US last August on a full basketball scholarship and, after nine months at Dodge City Community College in Kansas, she is back in her home town.

Jennings arrived back in Rotorua this week, where she will remain for about two months, and she is hoping to play division one basketball for the North Harbour Breeze while on her break.

Friends, family and beaches are among some of the things the the former John Paul College head girl has missed while concentrating on her basketball career and education in another country.

"What I'm looking forward to most is seeing my family and friends, spending time and having fun with them," Jennings said.

"I also can't wait to see our beautiful country. As scary as it may seem, until you go to America, it really makes you appreciate what we have at home.

"I also want to see a beach [because] living in Kansas is so boring, it's so flat and dry," she said.

But despite all she has yearned for, Jennings said the move was inevitable to further develop her skills on and off the court.

"I came over [to America] to get a life and basketball experience, to experience a different and hopefully higher level of basketball, to improve my skills on the court and in life as well."

She said the move was the most difficult thing she's ever had to do but knew it was the best thing for her career.

"It took me a long time to settle in [because] I am so close to my family and I was really comfortable at home so it has been the hardest thing in my life.

"At times it is still hard being away from home for like nine months, but I had to be strong in order to achieve my goals."

Jennings said she can point out her most exciting American encounters.

"The highlight has been having the opportunity to play with some extremely good basketball players, also to see the world and visit new places and [to] better myself as a person and a basketball player.

"I have been to Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Colorado, Oklahoma, Texas and Minneapolis, and also Florida, so I have really travelled a lot of places through my basketball.

She praised the experiences she has had at Dodge City Community College including success in both sports and her education, studying sports management and psychology, economics, geography and computers.

"I was placed on the deans honours list at my college due to my grades [and] I also achieved an academic scholarship due to my fall semester grades."

When Jennings returns to the US she will transfer to Jacksonville State University in Alabama on a three-year scholarship where she will play basketball at division one level in the Ohio Valley Conference.