Six from North in NZ sides

FAMILY AFFAIR: Tana Milton (left), Heemi Rihari, Jasmine Milton and Teina Rihari train on their homebuilt volleyball court beside the Ngunguru River.PHOTO/JOHN STONE

Future bright as more youth take up game

SOME of Northland's aspiring volleyballers have taken an emphatic dig, set and spike towards national representation.

Teina Rihari, Jasmine Milton, Kelena Roughan and Uma Robinson of Whangarei Girls' High School (WGHS) have been included in New Zealand teams, as have Heemi Rihari and Tana Milton of Whangarei Boys' High School (WBHS).

Although the region has had snippets of success in the sport over the years, 2015 has signalled something of a renaissance, says coach and former New Zealand volleyball representative Lenna Milton. "It's a first - to have four reps for girls and two reps for boys is really big," she said.

In particular, Milton's daughter Teina Rihari, who will travel to Thailand with the New Zealand Junior Women's indoor volleyball team in July, has sparked a comeback for indoor volleyball talent emerging from Northland.

"She's the first person in Northland to make a New Zealand indoor team since me - that's probably been about 20 years," the coach said.

"Over the last few years, we've been starting to get a bit of beach representation as well. It's easier to get two players than it is for six a side [and] that makes it a bit easier for us to train."

One element of the recent success can be put down to the fact volleyball is a family affair for the Miltons and Riharis. Milton's daughter Teina and son Heemi are cousins with Jasmine and Tana which has given the kids a competitive edge from early on.

"I kind of grew up knowing volleyball and being around volleyball," Teina said. "I'd like to keep going and follow through to New Zealand women's."

Despite the strong family influence, Northland volleyball is growing through new-found interest by younger participants.

That was especially evident at WGHS, WBHS and Tikipunga High School, said Milton.

"Last year was my first year in the school (WGHS) and, at trials, we had about 60 girls turn up so that culture is growing.

"These girls are in the gym every day - the season's finished for them but they still want to be in there every lunchtime."

An example of that determination paying off could be seen in New Zealand Under-17 beach volleyball team members Kelena Roughan and Uma Robinson.

"These younger girls were very surprised to have made it, even though I said to them, 'You've got a really good chance', but they didn't think they were that good," Milton said.

For Roughan and Robinson, who are both 14, the induction of volleyball into their schedule was a whimsical mishappening.

"We started at Girls' High in Year 9 - it was in the notices one morning so we thought we'd just try it out," Roughan said.

A spur-of-the-moment decision had turned into a promising future for the duo and their junior volleyball pairs, Milton said.

"They only started playing last year. They'd never even seen or touched a volleyball before so didn't know it existed.

"When they went down and competed against people from over New Zealand [at nationals], they were really stoked to make it in [to a New Zealand team]."