Laura Balmer is in her element in the Tactix defensive circle in 2026. Photo / Michael Bradley
Merryn Anderson for LockerRoom
After a long morning of netball training, Laura Balmer walks down the road, grabs a quick bite to eat, then starts work at Christchurch Hospital. The Tactix defender is also a medical student – balancing her studies while becoming one of the top performers in the ANZ Premiership.
The 22-year-old is in her second full season of professional netball, moving south from the Central Pulse to join the Tactix this year. Entering her fourth year of study, it’s a busy lifestyle, but one Balmer is relishing.
“I’m really enjoying both environments. It’s nice being able to do both because it keeps me fresh and not overthinking either of them,” she says.
But she’s not alone in her juggling. Her Auckland schoolmate, Catherine Hall, is also studying medicine – and playing in the defensive circle for the Mystics.
Balmer and Hall were teammates in defence for Baradene College, which won the Auckland premier one schools league in 2021, the year they graduated.
Now they’re the top two players in the ANZ Premiership for both deflections and intercepts. And Balmer’s goal is to become a Silver Fern, as Hall did last year. She’s already stamped her mark as a breakout player of the 2026 league.
On Saturday, their franchises met each other on court in Auckland, with the Mystics stopping the unbeaten streak of the Tactix. The Mystics won 52-43, after a poor third quarter from the Tactix. But they stay on the top of the ladder with three wins, alongside fellow South Islanders, the Steel.
Balmer put her medical studies at Otago University on pause last year to move from Dunedin to Wellington to play for the Pulse – called up before the season to replace a pregnant Teneisha Tofa. But she wanted to find a way to return to the league and study again this season.
“It’s hard,” the 1.9m tall Balmer says. “Obviously, my dream is to become a high-performance netballer, but also I want to be a doctor,” she says.
“I had chats with different people, and the Tactix were amazing with their comms and flexibility. And they also train 200m from the hospital, so it was perfect.
“Working all that out was a little bit stressful, but I just feel so blessed I can do both. I’m loving playing netball in Christchurch.”
Another thing that attracted Balmer to the Tactix was the coaching staff of head coach Donna Wilkins and her assistant, Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit.
“Donna is amazing, she’s so crack-up but such a good coach. She’s got such a good balance between being a knowledgeable, amazing coach but also being personable with her players,” says Balmer.
Selby-Rickit played over 200 games at the national level as an in-circle defender, and Balmer was starstruck when she first met her.
“She’s an older, experienced player who you feel you can go to about everything. She’s just so crazy knowledgeable, and has so many tactics and smarts,” Balmer says.
She learnt from two of the best last year, playing alongside Kelly Jackson and Parris Mason at the Pulse.
“The first time I met Kelly I cried. It was so embarrassing, she was my idol,” Balmer laughs.
“But Kelly and Mase [Mason] were both so great, they taught me so much. They were so patient with me, and when I’d come on court, I felt so supported by them. I’m so, so lucky to have been under those two, cause both of them are such smart players.”
After two seasons with the Southern Blast in the NNL, Balmer played in just six matches for the Pulse in her premiership debut year, but overcame impostor syndrome with the help of experienced players in the team.
“Going into the Pulse environment and being surrounded by so many amazing players who had so much knowledge and expertise under their belt … they all just took me under their wing, and I just learnt and grew so much,” Balmer says.
Alongside the on-court teachings, Balmer also learned about being a high-performance athlete.
“You don’t really know the pressures and what’s expected of you and what people expect of each other. So it was cool being in an environment where stuff is demanded of you and you have to step up,” she says.
They are lessons she’s been able to transfer to her studies and general life as well, especially taking on hard feedback.
“When I’m in the hospital and there’s a scary consultant, knowing how to take that and communicate effectively. I feel like I learnt a lot in that way as well,” says Balmer, who’s on placement at Christchurch Hospital.
From her first day with the Tactix, Balmer has loved the environment, and continues to enjoy showing up to training.
“These people are so lovely, and the coaches I just have so much respect for,” she says. “Respect is something I value and all the players respect our coaches so much because they have really good people skills, but they’re also so crazy knowledgeable.”
Balmer is building a formidable partnership with Australian Ash Barnett in the defensive circle.
“I love Ash, she’s such an intelligent player, so smart. And it’s fun playing off her, cause we come with different ideas on how to do things,” Balmer says.
Primarily a goal keep, Balmer has played most of this season at goal defence – a position still relatively new to her.
“I first learnt it last year under Parris, and I’m actually really enjoying it. Sometimes I’m like ‘What the heck am I doing?’, but for the most part, it’s really fun,” she laughs.
“I’m doing something different and adding that position to my tool kit so I can chop and change between the two bibs. There are so many different skillsets you need in goal defence which you don’t have in goal keep.”
When the days get long and overwhelming, Balmer is grateful for her support system in both realms of her life.
“I’ve got really cool people around me. The girls and the coaches in the Tactix are amazing so I love hanging out with them, and the people in med school are all really cool as well. It’s nice being surrounded by people who will help you out.”
When things are particularly tough, Balmer can call her parents back in Auckland, or turn to her faith.
“I’m a Christian and I feel like I’m doing what God wants me to do. My faith is so important to me too,” she says.
Her netball dream is to become a Silver Fern, and she had a taste of wearing the black dress at last year’s Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar, where New Zealand finished runner-up to Australia.
“My whole life, I’ve wanted to be a Silver Fern. But I also want to enjoy my netball at this high level, and just be the best netballer I can be,” she says.
“It was so fun in Gibraltar, being able to play against different countries whose styles are so different – even just hearing different languages on court when you’re playing is so crazy,” she says.
“It was such a fun experience and so good for my own confidence, because I had been in the environment for three years before we actually got selected in the team. It was really cool seeing my growth in those three years through my netball journey.”
When asked if she would ever pause her medical studies to pursue her netball dream, Balmer admits she would be willing to.
“I’m kind of just doing it year by year, and trusting God,” she says. “But yes, I’d drop everything to be a Silver Fern.”
This story was originally published at Newsroom.co.nz and is republished with permission.