It has been a whirlwind 12 months for Kaitlyn Bryce.
The 20-year-old started by signing a rookie contract with the NSW Swifts midway through last year before representing Australia at under-21 level.
Bryce, a centre or wing attack, also captained NSW under-21s to the national title in Tasmania in March.
But if that wasn’t enough, the UTS St George Sparks player made her ANZ Championship debut for the Swifts, the team she supported as a girl, in round two against Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic.
Bryce will again feature in the squad for Sunday’s home clash with Central Pulse at Sydney Olympic Park.
Bryce told The Leader the hard work, dedication and sacrifice had well and truly paid off.
“There was so much practice and sacrifice I had to make, family wise and education wise as well,” she said.
“That netball goal I always put first and it was nice that I got the reward with my Swifts contract.”
Bryce joined the St George association in 2014 after she returned from a stint at the Australian Institute of Sport and decided to move to Sydney from her family home in Shoalhaven.
She was part of St George’s state league teams before being named captain of both the Sparks’ opens and under-20s squads for the inaugural Netball NSW Premier League.
Due to her commitments with the Swifts it is unlikely Bryce will get to play for the Sparks this season.
But playing and training with international calibre midcourters Kim Green, Paige Hadley and Laura Langman has also been key to speeding up Bryce’s development.
“I’m in such a privileged position to learn off them,” she said.
“I see what they do in training and in games and I think I want to learn that.
“I can just go up to them and ask them which is really cool and have a conversation.
“They’re so willing to share their knowledge with me and I just grab it all, their advice and experience and put it in my little netball book.”
Bryce also knows the meaning of hard work off the court as well as on it, as she continues to study her nursing degree at the University of Western Sydney.
The Swifts lost their grand final rematch to the Queensland Firebirds last weekend but Bryce said the squad would be ready to bounce back against the Pulse.
“It’s important we get out there and address what we [didn’t] do against the Firebirds,” she said.
“We talked about going back to the drawing board and stepping up another level, challenging ourselves to just get better.”
