A life-changing experience

TALL ORDER: Southern Steel's Leana de Bruin relaxes at home in Hamilton with her three-week old son Caleb yesterday. The former Silver Fern is one of Steel's key signings for next year's trans-Tasman netball competition.

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Southern Steel recruit Leana de Bruin has experienced the highs of winning a Commonwealth Games gold medal and a netball world championship, but they both pale in comparison to the recent birth of her first child.

de Bruin and husband Quinton became the proud parents of son Caleb three weeks ago, and the former Silver Fern said it put everything in perspective.

"It's definitely a life-changing thing," de Bruin told The Southland Times.

"You've still got your own life, but it's different because you can't just go anywhere you want ... it's pretty rewarding."

At 1.9m, de Bruin is one of the tallest players out on the netball court and it appears little Caleb has the genes to one day follow in his mother's sporting footsteps, the newborn being about 55cm tall and weighing 4kg.

de Bruin said Caleb had been fairly well behaved so far.

"He's pretty good. He gets a bit tired in the evenings. He sleeps really well ... it's a bit challenging at times."

Early next year, de Bruin will head down to the deep south to link up with her new Southern Steel team-mates, but it will be far from an unfamiliar surrounding.

When de Bruin emigrated to New Zealand from South Africa in 2001, the first team she played for was Southern Sting in the then Coca-Cola Cup competition. She said she found the move to a new country pretty daunting initially.

"It was quite tough for me. My English wasn't very good. I was playing with (Silver Ferns) Donna (Wilkins), Adine (Wilson) and Bernice Mene and it was quite overwhelming.

"I've done the hard work and got my confidence back. I'm a much- stronger person than I was in 2001."

de Bruin is on track to become the first player to play for all five New Zealand ANZ Championship franchises. Southern Steel will be her third franchise after stints with the Northern Mystics in the inaugural year of the competition, and Waikato-Bay of Plenty Magic this season. Earlier this year, she hit the headlines with Magic as she broke new ground by continuing to play in the world's elite netball competition until she was five and a half months pregnant.

The signing of the towering de Bruin – who is proficient at either goal keep or goal defence – was a real coup for Steel after the Southern franchise lost key defenders Megan Hutton (retired) and Katrina Grant (Pulse) during the off season. Her addition gives coach Robyn Broughton great options in the defensive circle, with Silver Fern Sheryl Scanlan, Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit, Emma Moynihan and Erika Burgess all vying for starting spots.

de Bruin will follow a strict fitness regime during the coming months before joining up with her Steel team-mates in Invercargill in early March.

She said the biggest thing that appealed to her about Steel was the chance to link up with old team-mates and the strong family culture within the franchise.

Some people have written Steel off for next season's title, with the side lacking a marquee signing, but de Bruin was confident they had the players to be a force in the competition.

"We're the type of team who don't have the big names, but we've got lots of up-and-coming stars .. if we click and gel, we'll be very good."

She expected next year's ANZ Championship to be the most even in the competition's history, with virtually every side getting stronger during the off season.

de Bruin's transition to Invercargill will be eased by her mother also coming down for the ANZ Championship to help look after Caleb. Her husband Quinton will remain in the couple's home town of Hamilton – where he works as a business analyst for ASB – but plans to fly down every second weekend.

This year, Steel encountered problems with first-time mother Donna Wilkins, who felt the franchise did not offer her adequate support as a new mum.

de Bruin has had lengthy talks with Steel about the challenges of combining top-level netball and being a new mother, and was happy with their arrangements for next season.

"We sat down and I asked a lot of questions ... I'm pretty lucky, with Caleb being healthy. He'll be able to stay with my mum."

The 32-year-old de Bruin will not be the only new mum in Steel's ranks next season, with shooter Daneka Wipiiti expecting her first child early next month.

de Bruin was one of the premier defenders in New Zealand's old domestic netball competition, and said she had noticed instantly a considerable lift in the intensity of the game since the advent of the semi-professional ANZ Championship two years ago.

"It's pretty full on. There's a lot more games. Every game is important. There's no easy games."

Marking some of the best shooters in the world like Romelda Aiken, Sharelle McMahon and Catherine Cox was also a big step up for New Zealand defenders, she said.

"You definitely have to have your jumping boots on," de Bruin laughed.

"Luckily, I'm not one of the shortest people going around."

de Bruin has racked up 33 caps for the Silver Ferns since switching allegiances from South Africa to New Zealand in 2002. She said she still had a burning desire to wear the black dress again.

"That would be awesome. I'd love to go to the Commonwealth Games (next year) and the World Champs. One of my dreams is to play in the final of the World Champs ...

"We'll see how things go."

- © Fairfax NZ News

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