Souwest Jets’ Sophie Eastaugh grateful to coaches and mentors for helping her reach netball potential

Souwest Jets young gun Sophie Eastaugh is grateful for being able to continue reaching her full potential as a netballer through training camps and national pathway programs despite previously stepping away from the sport. Eastaugh, who joined the Souwest Jets earlier this year, recently travelled to Canberra to take part in a training camp as part of the Australian 19/U netball squad. She was named as one of three WA netballers in the squad earlier this year after putting on stand-out performances representing WA at the National Netball Championships in Hobart in April. Teammate Ruth Aryang was also named in the squad but she was not able to take part in the training camp as she was recovering from an ACL injury suffered during the championships. In an interview with Netball Australia, Eastaugh spoke of her netball journey as well as stepping away from netball for two years to focus on athletics. “I (previously) played nationals in Perth and at the same time I was also doing athletics and after that nationals I wanted to focus on athletics a bit more, so I stepped away from netball and did athletics for two years,” she said. “I had a stint of injuries along the way so I kind of needed a distraction and I was lucky enough to get selected back into the (netball) pathway. “The thing I love about netball is the team aspect. “Obviously athletics is very individual so I was just by myself and all the focus was on me and I really wanted to have that experience with other girls and form friendships.” Along with playing for the Jets, Eastaugh takes part in training programs with WAIS, which she said allowed her to see just how much she was capable of. “I think the national pathway also brings a lot of opportunity with the national squads and the training environments, which we try and replicate back in WA,” she said. “It’s a really good foundation for girls if they want to go up to the professional level and there’s a really great calibre of coaches.” Along the way, Eastaugh has also had the opportunity to hone her skills with some of the finest netballers and coaches, including receiving mentorship from Stacey Marinkovich and Jhaniele Fowler. “(Training with Michelle Wilkins and Marinkovich) was such an amazing opportunity and I learned so much and it gives me so much confidence to train and aspire to be part of the Super Netball League one day,” she said. “I just love (Fowler’s) sassiness on the court. “She’s really confident in her ability and she just shows everyone how it’s done and I just love that. “I also love Sasha Glasgow as well. “She has so much energy and gives me so much confidence to play the way she does as well. “I aspire to take parts of their game into mine but ultimately I just want to be my own person and put something different out on the court that hasn’t been seen before.”