WHEN it came to picking a sport to play, Nowra’s Sean Gray did not take the easy option.
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The former Nowra High School student has excelled as goal attack in the female dominated sport of netball, but gender has not stopped him from taking his chances.
Gray was recently selected on the Australian under 23 men’s netball team which will compete in South Africa in October after a training camp in New Zealand in August.
At 19 years-old, he is one of the youngest on the squad.
“I wasn’t expecting to get anywhere near the men’s team,” Gray said.
“I couldn’t explain how happy I was when they announced the team. I was in shock, but it was such a good feeling.”
Gray plays state league competition netball for the Titans and has been on the NSW team for five years.
This is the first time he will tour with the Australian side.
He was selected in the Australian 17s side two years ago, but it was a paper side and the team never got to compete together.
Gray impressed selectors while playing for NSW at the Australian Men’s and Mixed Netball Championships, held in Melbourne from March 31 to April 6.
Although NSW finished fourth, Gray and two other teammates made the Australian squad.
“Guys netball is definitely bigger in Victoria. Other states have a different technique of playing. NSW tends to play more smart and steady, where the other states are more fast and crazy,” he said.
He is looking forward to playing in South Africa, as well as seeing a few of the sights while he is over there.
“I know New Zealand is very competitive, but I don’t know much about the other countries. We will have to wait and see,” he said.
Gray has played netball since he was eight-years-old and said his netball coach mother was his main influence.
“And a family full of girls got me up here,” he laughed.
He said that he never considered playing any other sport after he made his first state netball selection.
“With netball, when you get good passages of play, it just feels good and is fun to play,” he said.
Gray did not have an easy time progressing in the sport.
He started playing with the Shoalhaven Netball Association as a junior but had to stop after he turned 13-years-old, as men are not allowed to play in the women’s competition.
In high school he made it all the way to the state school selections but was denied a spot on the team.
As men’s netball is not as popular as women’s netball, Gray has to fund his way to play for Australia.
Although he plans to do some fund-raising later in the year, he is looking for any sort of sponsorship.
If you would like to sponsor Gray, contact the South Coast Register sport desk on 4421 9123.