A proud Ngarrindjeri woman from the Coorong Lower Murray regions, Tashani Wyatt has gone from student to teacher in 2024.
After graduating from the South Australian Aboriginal Secondary Training Academy (SAASTA) Aboriginal Netball Academy, the 19-year-old decided to explore her passion for coaching and is now inspiring the next generation of First Nations netballers.
During her time as a SAASTA student, she was named netballer of the year at just 15 years of age and went on to graduate in 2022.
Now, Wyatt is looking at the game through a different lens, having taken up a coaching position at the academy.
“It has been a big difference because I’m looking at the game from a different perspective now,” Wyatt said.
“I was doing community coaching with Netball SA at the Adelaide Thunderbirds School Holiday Clinics, where I was coaching a lot of the grassroots players.
“So, I was able to go out and run netball drills with the girls which was really fun.”
Wyatt credits her time at the academy to creating a greater sense of connection to her culture, and for providing opportunities for her off the court.
“With the program, there is an education side of things but then there is also the sports academy, where I was lucky enough to be a part of its netball program,” Wyatt said.
“In terms of my education, I was able to gain qualifications and SASE credits to go towards my ATAR which helped me finish school a little bit quicker and easier.
“In year twelve I did Aboriginal studies, which was more about culture which really helped me develop my cultural identity as well.
“Being in that space was really great because it’s nothing like being at a mainstream school.”
Whilst going through the academy as a student, Wyatt said she had a lot of mentors and coaches who helped her become the person she is today.
“In the academy, I had a lot of role models and mentors that I would look up to like Christine Glenn, she was a great mentor,” Wyatt said.
“Dani Johnson, who coached the Premier League at South Adelaide for a few years, and she was at the academy for quite some time as well, so she is one that I really looked up to and had a good relationship with.”
“Vanessa Dempsey was also a really good role model; she was at Oakdale whilst I was there, and I have had the chance to work with her as well.”
Netball SA hosted its First Nations Round in The Hospital Research Foundation Group Premier League in Round 6 on Friday, May 24.
Wyatt said it was a great time to celebrate Aboriginal people in sport.
“I think that it’s a great thing to have and it’s a great way to celebrate Aboriginal women and Aboriginal people in general through sport,” Wyatt said.
“Obviously we don’t have a lot of representation of Aboriginal people within the sport itself, so to be able to celebrate the people that we do have is a great initiative.
“It will open doors and influence younger athletes to follow the same pathways and develop a desire to be in that position as well.”
Wyatt has ambitions to become the head coach at the academy one day as she continues to build her netball accreditations.
“I want to be a constant mentor for the girls throughout the day but then to be able to coach them in the afternoons,” Wyatt said.
“To be able to head coach in that space and to be a role model for the girls is my biggest dream."
