Mia Lavis proud to make Victoria 17-and-under team heading to the National Championships

The 17-year-old, from Howlong, is heading to the Top End from April 11-16 as part of Victoria's 17-and-under team after impressing state coaches during an exhaustive trial process.

Lavis will be representing Albury Netball Association at the championships and the significance of her selection is not lost on the Year 11 Albury High School student.

"I'm still in a bit of disbelief," Lavis admitted.

"It took a long time to sink in, until the first training, when I arrived in that environment.

"It was my goal to go all the way because I want to keep progressing through the pathways.

"Netball's my No.1 hobby, it's my dream.

"The trial process was a long one, with a lot of trips to Melbourne, but it was really rewarding and so worth it.

"Even though it was really tough, going up against the best netballers in Victoria, the relief at the end knowing I went through all of that to get through, it was really cool."

Lavis' first netball coach was her mum Amanda, who can't wait to take her seat courtside in Darwin.

"It's amazing," Amanda said.

"We're so proud of her.

"We all love netball in our family and we know how much it means to Mia and how passionate she is about the game.

"She works really hard and always has, so for her to get that far, we were just bursting with pride.

"It's been a pretty huge commitment.

"We're in Melbourne every week, so it can get a little bit tiring but we're committed to doing it because she loves it so much.

"Mia always showed potential.

"She was a really strong junior and we knew she'd do well because I've never seen a young person so committed to something.

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"Even from a really young age, she wanted to go as far as she could in netball and always showed that real focus."

State selection is reward for years of hard work and an overwhelming love for the game.

"I started netball at such a young age and netball's all I've known," Lavis said.

"I remember watching Mum play A-grade at Howlong and I remember playing centre in NetSetGo and not being very good at all.

"Ever since I was young, I'd be nagging Mum and Dad to go down to the netball courts or come out into the back yard to pass with me.

"Mum loved netball, she passed it on to my sister and ever since I started, it's been a massive part of my life.

"It wasn't until I got injured last year that I realised how big it was exactly and how grateful I am to have something like this, a team I can be a part of.

"When I go to netball training, it's just the best.

"To reach the ultimate goal in junior netball and to be able to go to nationals and test myself and play against the best players, it's so rewarding, knowing that my hard work has paid off."

A stress fracture kept Lavis sidelined for a fair chunk of season 2022 but she recovered just in time.

"I had my first full netball game a week or two before the first trial," she revealed.

"My fitness was down and I was lacking a bit of confidence but once that got out of the way, I had a bit of time to get my fitness up and worked really hard for a short period of time."

Lavis hailed the coaching of Jodie and Shaylah House at Raiders as a big factor in her development and has built up her confidence to the point where she's ready to shine on the national stage.

"The first state training, I was coming into it so nervous," she said.

"I was doubting myself a bit because you want to show you belong there and prove yourself but I guess we didn't really have time to doubt ourselves in the first training because it was straight into drills.

"I definitely feel like I belong now."

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