KEY POINTS:
Maree Bowden remembers her first game of netball. She was 5 and a pupil at St Gerards Primary School in Alexandra.
Elder sister Camille's team, coached by their dad Neville, was short of a player. So up stepped Maree. "I played centre and Camille was goal attack. I
passed her the ball every time I got it," Bowden laughs.
"I remember the court and my excitement when someone couldn't play."
Bowden experienced a similar kind of excitement last week when she was promoted from the New Zealand A side into the Silver Ferns squad - from which the 12 players to defend New Zealand's world crown next year will come.
"It was a bit of a shock. I was so excited about being called back into the New Zealand A team. It has been a crazy weekend, with lots of tears and lots of excitement."
Bowden (nee Grubb) was born in Clyde but grew up in Alexandra. Her father was a rower, her mother Barbara played netball for Otago and was a representative swimmer.
"Mum played goal attack, she has one of those classic old-style shots ... down by your side and push up," she laughs.
"Camille and I had a netball hoop and pretty much spent all our time having competitions between each other when we were young ... we were very competitive, as she reminded me once I had made the Silver Ferns squad."
Camille, who is married to cricketer Shane O'Connor and played for the Rebels, Flames and the Sting in the National Bank Cup, is contemplating trialling for the Rebels next season.
Bowden dabbled in a number of sports but concentrated on tennis in the summer and netball in the winter. She boarded at St Kevins, in Oamaru, and followed the typical netball trail, working her way up through age-group representative sides.
In her last year of high school, Bowden was still playing all over the court, mostly at goal defence. She then had a stint at goal attack before settling on midcourt.
Known for her enthusiasm, grit and strength, Bowden oozes toughness. But even for someone who possesses that killer instinct, her bumpy road in the sport has been a challenge.
After making the New Zealand A team in 2001, she was selected to accompany the Silver Ferns to the 2002 Commonwealth Games as a training partner with Anna Scarlett.
But her career then hit a brick wall and, for four years, no matter how hard Bowden tried, she couldn't break through. The problem was New Zealand's wealth of talented mid-courters, such as Anna Rowberry, Julie Seymour, Temepara George, Lesley Rumball, Amigene Metcalfe, Jenny-May Coffin and Adine Wilson. "You go through a lot of soul-searching. I'd talked to a few friends and basically said, 'The way I am going, I'll have to give up on my dream'.
"Ever since I have been young, it has been my goal to be a Silver Fern, that is what has driven me. I had kind of given up - but my friends said, 'Why?'
"I talked to a lot of people around me - Marg Foster, Julie Seymour and my club coaches - just for little things that would improve my game. I wanted to focus on the things I did well instead of worrying about the things I couldn't control.
"I thought, 'This year I have nothing to lose, so just go for it.' I stepped up my training and was probably a bit more relaxed on court.
"I am a lot older now. When you are young you are really intense and it consumes your life. I got married [to Peter in February], I am really settled in Christchurch, I have a good job."
Now she is back in the fray, Bowden isn't about to let this opportunity go by. With the Silver Ferns selectors on the lookout for a back-up wing attack, Bowden has plenty to play for.
"I am excited, I am just going to go for it and see what happens. It has been a long journey - but it probably has made it more satisfying knowing how hard I have had to work to get there."
Profile
Maree Bowden
Born: Clyde, November 20, 1979.
Positions: WA, C, WD
Height: 1.75m
Occupation: Teacher at Christchurch's Selwyn House School.
Career highlights
* 2006: Silver Ferns Squad
* 2001-02: NZ A Squad
* 2000: NZU21 Squad
* 1999-2006: Canterbury Flames
* 2005-06: Canterbury
* 2003: Otago
