By Lachlan Onions
Penola’s Olivia Berkin stood tall as she represented South Australia in the Under 21 National Polocrosse Championships held in Victoria last week.
At just 16 years of age, Berkin has played polocrosse for seven years and her long-term commitment to the sport has been rewarded yet again after she earnt another call-up to the state side.
Berkin represented South Australia at junior level and has recently made the step up to the intermediate level of competition.
“When I first played at intermediate level, it was a really big step up for me,” she said.
Last weekend marked her first appearance at the National Polocrosse Championships after she also represented South Australia at the Barastoc Interstate Series in Warwick last year.
The young player competed against others as much as five years older than her and relished the opportunity to test herself against the nation’s best.
“It makes you a better player and it’s really good to be able to see where the level is that you need to be performing at,” she said.
The Under 21 Women’s competition was contested between South Australia, Queensland and New South Wales in the Pam Coulson Memorial Perpetual Trophy.
South Australia lost both of their games, in spirited performances.
The side lost their first game to New South Wales by 14 points and then went down to Queensland by 24.
New South Wales went on to claim the trophy after they defeated Queensland by one-point in the final.
“We did better than we thought we would,” she said.
“South Australia has been a bit of an underdog, so teams always expect to easily win, so it’s great when we put up a challenge.”
This has relieved the pressure on Berkin and allowed her to play without the burden of expectation.
“Because other teams don’t have as high expectations of us, it means we can enjoy ourselves more,” she said.
“The competition is quite hard, but it makes the times when you do win all the better.”
For Berkin, the pathway going forward is clear, with the four best males and females from the National Championships called up to represent Australia at Under 21 level.
“I had some of my teammates called up for the Australia team, so I’m really happy for them,” she said.
Berkin will return to action for South Australia in May for the Barastoc Interstate Series.
