perspectives - OCTOBER 2018 

holding on to dreams of going pro

athlete: SEINI (jane) veamatahau

Seini, also known as Jane, is 27 year old amateur athlete with dreams of going pro. She has been playing sports since she was young and has a passion for the game of netball. She is currently a professional in the travel industry and loving life.

“Over the past few years, I has been playing several times a week at all different levels - from social, to club, to rep. I would play in the morning and at night, and sometimes I would play up to 10 games in a single week.

The ACL tear was a very unfortunate event. I injured my knee during a netball fundraiser tournament Feb 2018. Devastation is an understatement of how I felt at the time, because I knew the long journey ahead of me in order to get back on court. Being fit and playing most nights, this injury was the hardest thing to accept. However, knowing I have good support system from siblings and friends who have been through this experience before was somewhat of a relief. 

In early August 2018, I had ACL reconstruction surgery, and currently, I am still in the early stages of my recovery (8 weeks post-op).

Through this recovery process, i have been mentally driven to get back out on the court and play the game that I love. My ultimate goal is to recover and train well and to have a shot at an elite level of netball. 

I have accepted the time away from playing the game, and appreciated life around it. 

What I regret earlier in age is not going for things, whether or not I made it. For instance, I would delay tryouts and tell myself that I would go for it the next year, or the next year… there was always something holding me back. 

However, this injury taught and reminded me not to waste anymore time as I am not getting any younger, and I need to take chances when the opportunities are there. I believe that I have what it takes to come back stronger than before. I need to put my mind to it and trust the process.

Having this setback has definitely made me more determined to keep fit as I recover and to give this dream a shot.”