Twelve Bondies will be playing out of their boots – and out of their comfort zone – at the UniSport Australia Indigenous Nationals this week.
The student athletes will have to find their feet, and hands, in sports outside their main game, taking on teams from around Australia in basketball, netball, touch football and volleyball.
While competitors Abelee Stanley and Sade Tulloch have form on the touch footy field, they’ll be relying on teammate and Bond Basketball Club president Adam Hennessy to find the net.
In volleyball Shonteia Warradoo and Ashlin Heyward will set Bond up for success, and Imogen Clarence and Gabriel Pither have the ball in their court for the netball stoush.
They’ve all benefitted from the expertise of Bond’s best coaches, with training clinics by Bond Touch Club coach Riley Bouveng and Bull Sharks’ Sapphire Series coach Rebecca Stower as part of their intensive preparations.
The dedicated dozen has also been taking part in social games with Bond’s club sports, fitness and conditioning sessions, geed up by student coach and BUSA vice president, Clinton Walsh.
This is the team’s first appearance at the Indigenous Nationals since 2017 and expectations are high.
Hennessy said it’s not just about sport.
“Growing up, I wasn’t really in touch with my Indigenous side,” he said.
“To have the opportunity to train and compete with the mob from Bond as well as get to know the athletes from across Australia means a lot to me.”
Having said that, Hennessy says he’s in it to win it.
“We’re all here for the experience first and foremost and making sure everybody is enjoying themselves,” he said.
“But at the end of the day I’m a very competitive person and I hope that we can come home with a win in at least one of the events.”
The event is being held at Monash University on the unceded lands of the People of the Kulin Nations.
The competition aims to celebrate the rich sporting culture of Indigenous athletes and acknowledge the heritage and history of students taking part.
The Bond Indigenous Nationals team is made up by Ashlin Heyward, Adam Hennessy, Abelee Stanley, Connor McGovrn-Cubby, Gabriel Pither, Imogen Clarence, Jenna Louise Sunderland, Kobe Cruse, Morgan Sexton, Sade Tulloch, Samuel Savage and Shonteia Warradoo.