As a child, Michael Davis was much more likely to be found hanging around the canteen, armed with coins to buy lollies, than passing a ball around the netball court with his twin sister Elise.
However after one too many sugar rushes, his mother Tracey decided to “throw him on the court” when Davis was nine.
Fast forward eight years and Davis, now 17, has been selected as the goal shooter in the Australian under-17 men’s netball team bound for Malaysia later this year.
The year 12 Mill Park Secondary College student has played with Plenty Valley Netball Association at RMIT University since the beginning of his netball days.
Davis plays for ‘‘Roxy’’, a mixed team competing on Saturdays, where he has been coached by Rita Pitruzzello for the past five years. Pitruzzello says although Davis’s height of just over 193 centimetres provides a significant advantage, it’s his skill level and ability to read the play that sets him apart. “He is not one of those rough players. He fits in well with the girls,” she says.
Davis’s netball career started getting serious when he made the Victorian men’s netball team last year. But the nationals were bittersweet – Davis injured his knee five minutes into the semi final.
“I jumped up to grab the ball and landed with a straight leg and my body turned,” he says. “I was very upset and in heaps of pain… when the trainers came over the first thing I said was ‘would I be able to play tomorrow?’”
The prognosis was grim; Davis couldn’t walk, let alone play in the grand final the next day. However in a show of sportsmanship the grand final against New South Wales was to prove a memorable experience for Davis – and his opposition.
NSW’s goal shooter had also been sidelined with an injured leg. With two minutes and forty seconds left of the game, and with NSW trailing by more than 25 goals, both teams decided to send their shooters out to play, under the condition they weren’t to be defended. “Mum and grandma were both crying,” Davis says.
“It went goal for goal,” says Tracey. “Victoria ended up winning the game by 34 goals, 74-40, so the result was out of the question but they wanted to get the boys on the court.
‘‘It was great sportsmanship from both sides. It was very touching to watch.”
The Victorian team is aiming for its sixth straight nationals win this year. In the meantime, Davis is focused squarely on the upcoming championships in Malaysia. It will be the first time he has travelled overseas.
“I’m a bit nervous to go to a different country. It will be a bit of a culture shock,” he says.
Davis hopes the experience will help him progress through the ranks to open grade competition – although he says the journey is as important as the end goal. “I want to just keep playing as I am for as long as I can and see where it takes me.”
