WHEN Brody Blackett-Gregg earned selection in the Australian under-20 men's netball team in May, it was the culmination of months of hard work.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The selection, based off impressive performances for NSW at the state championships, stamped his ticket to don the green and gold against New Zealand in September.
Now the 18-year-old is taking on a different challenge, organising the money to travel and represent his country.
"It is a bit of an expensive thing to do, but we have been doing a fair bit of fundraising and I'd say we are about halfway there," Blackett-Gregg told the Leader.
"Alongside my family, we have organised some sponsors, a 100 club fundraiser and a few other things to help bring in some funds.
"It's going really well at the moment."
Read More:
A keen cricketer and basketball player, Blackett-Gregg has also recently snapped up the opportunity to pass on his sporting knowledge to the next generation.
"I was recently asked to run a netball clinic down in Coolah," he said.
"They only really have an under-6 to under-16 structure over there, so they were keen to get someone with some state experience to give them a hand.
"Being involved in the sport at some level is my long-term goal, so this should be a lot of fun and any money I make from it will be going towards the trip to New Zealand."
Brody's father Robert said his son had "plenty of support behind him".
"So far we have received some really welcome support from the Tamworth Netball Association and Andromeda Engineering," he said.
"Where the cost really starts to creep up is travelling to Canberra for training as well as the trip to New Zealand.
"But with the generous support he has been receiving, I'm sure he will get there."
As for the growth of men's netball in the Tamworth region, Brody believes it is "moving in a good direction."
"We played an exhibition game here earlier in the year where a local team played the state team," he said.
"From that we probably now have enough for four local teams.
"Hopefully in the future we could see a weekly competition here in Tamworth."