Aiming high and handsome is Manilla’s Taylor Skelton. Photo: Barry Smith 280213BSD01
TAYLOR Skelton has a busy sporting schedule.
The 15-year-old Manilla Central School Year 10 student is preparing to play for NSW Country in the Australian Under 18 Girls’ Basketball Championships in Brisbane from April 21.
However she has plenty to do while she prepares for those titles, with some Little Athletics Championships thrown in as well as some junior basketball coaching and playing for not only her local school and in the Tamworth women’s A Grade but playing for Tamworth Thunderbolts in the Northern Junior League and also for Gosford Waves in the Country Premier League.
Last year she played for NSW Country Under 16s at the Australian National Under 16 Championships in Tamworth.
Her recent selection in the NSW Country side to contest the national Under 18 titles in Brisbane was reward for a lot of hard work.
“We started off with trials at the start of the year and then had a four-day camp in the Illawarra where they picked some Country teams to play in a tournament at Albury.
“They picked 20 girls from Albury for a trial at Gosford and then selected a team of 10 with five reserves.”
Taylor was one of those 10 and is delighted now to be preparing for the Brisbane titles.
Not bad for a young girl from Manilla who started off playing as a Year 3 student against Year 5 juniors in the Tamworth Miniball.
Being active is no problem for Taylor either.
“I train every day except Thursdays when I coach the Year 5 and 6 Manilla girls,” she said.
“They won by 35 in their first game the other day.
“It’s good fun (for her).
“We have a lot of good players.”
Taylor will also play for her Manilla Year 9/10 side in the Tamworth junior secondary competition as well as for the Tamworth Under 18s in the Tamworth women’s A grade and also the Northern Junior League.
“I’ll also playing for the Gosford Waves in the CPL.”
Little Athletics is something of a passion for her too.
“I’m going to the State for Little A’s in 200m and discus,” she said of an athletics career moving into pentathlons.
Oh, and she’s also hoping to play State League for the senior Thunderbolt women as if she didn’t need anything more to compete in.
