Year 11 student Florida Fatanitavake keeps lots of balls in the air by achieving at a high level. Photo / Dean Purcell
'Natural talent' excels at a multitude of sports and has her sights set on the Olympics.
Netball, rugby, touch, tag, athletics, basketball are the sports played by Florida Fatanitavake. The 15-year-old, Year 11 Glenfield College student succeeds at the lot. She is your quintessential natural talent, with the priceless assets of pace and skill allied with an ability to see the field and court and anticipate what will come next and where she has to be. Thus far she has achieved great things without a lot of specific technical coaching.
Last year at Glenfield College's sports prizegiving, hers was a well-worn path from her seat to the stage to receive awards and recognition in a clutch of sports.
Her rugby prowess, a sport she took up only two years ago, led her into the 2013 North Harbour senior women's team, playing against girls much older and more mature than her, but few with as much pace and natural talent. In touch, she has made the New Zealand Under 17s team, heading to Australia in September. In athletics, she has already posted a 100m personal best of 12.54s, which is rapid for one so young. As a defender in netball, she plays for her school and the Westlake club, and has already won rep honours.
"I'd like to be an Olympian, so I need to work hard in summer and in winter," says Fatanitavake.
Her five siblings are all into sport, and she acquired many of her skills in the backyard, but it is not always easy to get to school by 6am three mornings a week for "boot camp" run by her mentor James "Johno" Johnson, the Services Academy director at Glenfield College. Those boot camps double as fundraisers, but they also help instil discipline.
Her parents have no car and few resources and school is almost an hour's walk, so she has to be organised and enlist the help of relatives.
"It's quite hard having heaps of trainings, because most of the time I come back late and I'm knackered," says Fatanitavake.
She says Johnson has helped hugely with her attitude and discipline, traits she will need if she wants to become a professional athlete.
An inspiration is Silver Ferns captain Casey Kopua, but Fatanitavake also admires other multi-talented female athletes such as Portia Woodman and Kayla McAlister, who are headed to Rio with the New Zealand 7s team after putting promising netball careers on hold. Johnson has coached his protege in touch and rugby, but feels she could go furthest in netball, as her anticipation is so good.
"I haven't seen too many like Florida, and that includes males as well," says Johnson.
"She has this ability on the court or field to sum up what she wants to do and it's likely to be the right option."
Competitive instinct cannot be coached, but Fatanitavake showed her bottle in last year's touch finals when she played with a dislocated shoulder, effectively using one hand.
"That was fun. We won that!"
Just last week, sponsor Z Energy stepped in to help Fatanitavake get to Australia for her touch trip, but more tangible support will be needed for her to go further in her chosen sports.
And how did she get her exotic first name? "My cousin's name is Florida and she lives in Florida, so my mum just decided to name me that."
Rugby
Auckland 1A (round two):
St Peter's 15 (A. Dabek, A. Lam tries; J. Trainor con, pen) Auckland Grammar 10 (R. Ioane try; W. Faiane con, pen)
King's 43 (M. Salaivao 4, J. Lowe 2 tries; C. Matoe 2 con, 3 pen) Papatoetoe High 19 (D. Leuila try, con, 3 pen, DG)
Sacred Heart 22 (D. Tupou 3, S. Kautai tries; J. Simpkins con) MAGS 3
St Kentigern 45 Kelston BHS 0
De La Salle 16 Tangaroa 13
Otahuhu 27 Onehunga 10
Auckland 1B (round two):
Pool A: Edgewater 38 One Tree Hill 0, Macleans 36 Marcellin 5, Mt Roskill Grammar 20 Liston 15
Pool B: Aorere 40 Tamaki 0, Dilworth 45 Botany Downs 5, Mangere 24 Avondale 22
North Harbour 1A (round two): Rangitoto 17 Massey 15, Orewa 25 Birkenhead 19, Westlake BHS 47 Takapuna Grammar 0
Chiefs Cup (round one): Hamilton BHS 55 Cambridge High 3; (round two): Hamilton BHS 41 Manurewa High 0, Rotorua BHS 50 Cambridge High 0, Wesley 27 St Peter's (Cambridge) 15, Tauranga BC 29 St Paul's Collegiate 19
Chiefs Trophy (round one): Bethlehem 53 Thames High 7; (round two): Hamilton BHS Second XV beat Thames HS by default
Football
Senior boys
Premier league:
Sacred Heart 4 Auckland Grammar 0
St Kentigern 5 Kelston 0
MAGS 4 Glendowie 0
Westlake Boys' 3 Macleans 0
Senior A1:
Rangitoto 5 Kristin 1, King's 2 Rosmini 0, St Peter's 5 Takapuna Grammar 1, Onehunga 3 Liston 2
Senior A2: Mt Roskill Grammar 3 Avondale 0, Northcote 0 Rutherford 0, Long Bay 7 Papatoetoe 1, Pakuranga 2 Western Springs 2
Senior A3: One Tree Hill 1 Howick 1, Botany Downs 2 Green Bay 0, Lynfield 5 Waitakere 0, Kingsway 4 Albany Senior High 2
Senior A4: Whangaparaoa 3 Sancta Maria 1, Massey 3 Dilworth 2, Selwyn 5 Parnell 1, Pinehurst 2 Glenfield 0, Orewa 2 Marcellin 1
Premier girls
Greater Auckland Premier 1 (U19): Rangitoto 3 Westlake Girls' 1, MAGS 5 Diocesan 0, Botany Downs 1 Onehunga 1
Greater Auckland Premier 2 (U19): Baradene 4 Rutherford 0, Whangaparaoa 1 Northcote 0, Marist 0 Green Bay 0, Long Bay 1 Lynfield 0, Glendowie 1 Pinehurst 0, Western Springs 4 St Cuthbert's 0
Counties Manukau Premier: Macleans 3 Pakuranga 0, Pukekohe 0 Howick 0, Rosehill 2 Waiuku 0
Basketball
Premier boys: Westlake BHS 76 Auckland Grammar 74, Rangitoto 119 St Kentigern 79, Onehunga 62 Rosmini 58, Liston 86 Avondale 27; Rangitoto 65 Auckland Grammar 63, Westlake BHS 85 Onehunga 57
Premier girls: Massey 52 AGGS 50, St Kentigern 53 Rangitoto 52, Westlake GHS 59 MAGS 42, Henderson 77 Avondale 76; Rangitoto 67 AGGS 38, Massey 65 MAGS 55
Badminton
Premier: Auckland Grammar 1 beat Macleans 1 3-3 (173-150), Auckland Grammar beat King's 5-1, Auckland Grammar beat Pakuranga 4-2, EGGS beat Macleans 2 3-3 (163-149)
League
Premier First XIII (May 14):
Westlake 14 Henderson 12
Western Springs 52 Auckland Seventh-day Adventist 8
Kelston 44 Massey 4
Mt Albert 26 Lynfield 6
St Paul's 62 Mt Roskill 0
Tangaroa 22 Pakuranga 14
Aorere 6 Papatoetoe 4
Otahuhu 26 Southern Cross 14
Papakura 30 Sir Edmund Hillary 16
Manurewa 4 James Cook 0
Hockey
Open A boys' Pool 1: King's Second XI 3 Kelston BHS 2
Pool 2: Macleans 2 St Peter's 0
Pool 3: Auckland Grammar 8 Avondale 0
Pool 4: MAGS 2 Mt Roskill Grammar 1
Open A girls' Pool 1: St Cuthbert's First XI 10 Marist 0, St Cuthbert's Second XI 4, Avondale 0
Pool 2: EGGS 7 King's 0, Macleans 1 Pakuranga 0
Pool 3: Diocesan First XI 3 Mt Roskill Grammar 1, Baradene 5 Dio Second XI 0
Pool 4: St Kentigern 5 Botany Downs 0, St Mary's 2 MAGS 1
Lacrosse
AKSS girls:
Division 1: EGGS 1 11 Western Springs 3; MAGS 1 21 St Mary's 2; Whangaparaoa 1 14 Diocesan 1 3
Division 2 Pool 1: Glendowie default to St Cuthbert's 1; Whangaparaoa 2 default to Pinehurst
Division 2 Pool 2: Mt Roskill Grammar 5 MAGS Yellow 0; EGGS 2 12 St Cuthbert's 2 0
Netball
Counties Manukau premier:
Pool 1: Alfriston 45 Tuakau 14; Sir Edmund Hillary 19 Papatoetoe 16; Manurewa 26 Strathallan Navy 20
Pool 2: James Cook Puutake 14 Wesley 14; Rosehill 20 Pukekohe Gold 7; TKM Nga Tapuwae 17 Papakura 16