By Stephanie Smarrelli
Teenager Sophie Brewer feels most at home with a netball in her hands and a goal post in front of her.
At ease she goes through the motions of bending her knees, flicking her wrist and letting the ball fly into the goal.
But unlike most 17-year-olds you’ll find at your local courts, Sophie is preparing to take on some of the world’s best, thanks to a phone call that changed her trajectory.
“It was out of the blue,” said Sophie.
"When I got the call from Ali (Tucker-Munro), I was excited.”
Tucker-Munro invited Sophie to join the First Nations Invitational national team, the Black Swans and the rest is history.
The teen making her debut for the side at last year’s Australian Netball Championships.
And now, the proud Wiradjuri teenager is preparing to step out onto the court with the side for the first time against international opponents.
The teenager is ready for the challenge of playing against international netballers.Hoping to further build on the relationships she created with her Black Swans teammates at the Australian Netball Championships.
“This will be the first time I meet some of the girls, it’ll be great to build a relationship with them both on and off the court,” she said.
“Playing against the best players from each country will be a good way to expose myself to that level and to learn from the girls I’m playing against and playing with.”
The teenager who resides in Tasmania but has family roots in NSW’s Peak Hill went on to represent Tasmania’s team Lutruwita at the First Nations Tournament in September.
Sophie is looking forward to the fresh opportunity to showcase her talent and represent community.
“My mum and family are really proud of how the connection to my culture has grown since joining the Black Swans,” she said.
“Someone from my mob, Darrell, came to Canberra when I was there with the team, and he gave me some clapsticks which were made from the tree in Peak Hill in the mission.
“It takes 100 years to grow, and they were the last two clapsticks he made for me.”
Sophie was gifted clapsticks while in Canberra for the Australian Netball Championships.With culture at the top of mind, last year’s First Nations Tournament was a highlight for Sophie for a couple of reasons.
"It was such an awesome time, all the girls got along on and off the court it,” she said.
“It was a different vibe to nationals; everyone shook hands after the games and took photos together.
“The Smoking Ceremony was awesome, everyone was stood closely together experiencing the traditional Aboriginal ceremony.
“Then the closing ceremony was a great vibe with the Aboriginal dancers getting everyone involved.”
The teenager first started netball as an eight-year-old, having been inspired by someone close to her.
“I love the sport, grew up watching it and my mum used to play,” she said.
Sophie recently won back-to-back grand finals with her state league netball club, the Cavaliers.
Sophie enjoyed last year's First Nations Tournament.“It was an awesome experience to not only win one but to go back-to-back with a similar lineup,” she said.
A big fan of watching Suncorp Super Netball, Sophie wasted no time in answering who her favourite player was.
“Ash Brazill, I always loved watching her,” she said.
“She was always going for everything and had a never say die attitude.
“Ash was someone I used to love to watch play, she also used to come to Tassie when she played with the Magpies.
“I watched her play when she was here and I got to do clinics with her, it was awesome.”
But there’s another player, Sophie feels a deep connection with.
"Donnell Wallam,” she said.
“She's very aware of her culture and is very public with it, so she's a great person to look up to in the First Nations space.”
Sophie is inspired by Origin Diamond Donnell Wallam.And like many teenagers, Sophie also looks up a key figure in her life.
“My mum, Alana,” she said.
“She’s a great role model how she looks after our family.”
With a bright future ahead of her, Sophie isn’t quite sure what’s next.
“I’ll take every opportunity when it comes to netball and see where that takes me,” she said.
“Outside of netball I’m still working on what I want to do as my career long term.
“I'm going into year 12 and doing some subjects I might enjoy so I’ll see where that takes me.”
The First Nations Invitational national team, the Black Swans are proudly supported by the Confident Girls Foundation.
