Young Kamogelo Maseko to live her World Cup dream

For someone who played netball to confirm she was a girl, Kamogelo Maseko has gone on to scale heights she never dreamt of.

The 20-year-old goal attack for Tshwane Senior A is among the shining stars at the Spar Women’s Netball National Championships at North West University’s Fanie du Toit sports grounds.

Maseko has been influential in helping the perennial champions, who are back to reclaim their title from the Cape Winelands after missing last year’s edition, enjoy an unbeaten run in the group stages for their spot in Friday’s semifinal.

“I played last year for Johannesburg and then moved to Tshwane this year. They are a team that has a winning culture. You get into that team and adopt and adjust to that winning culture. For me, winning four out of four shows our hard work is paying off. We are a fresh team. A lot of us are making a debut in the Tshwane A team and it means we don’t have to know each other or train with each other that long. We just need to be disciplined and have control over the game.”

The Soweto lass is also among 24 players contracted by Netball South Africa (NSA) to the Spar Proteas national team that will contest the World Cup in Cape Town next year.

It is a dream nursed by many girls, but one very few get to live.

“A World Cup on home soil, what a dream! For me this is a huge achievement, something I would never have imagined, especially because netball was not my first choice for a sport.

“It’s a funny story, but I played netball due to peer pressure. I wanted to play basketball or soccer, but I also wanted to avoid people thinking I was a boy. So I went to netball because all the girls played it. I had the chance to switch from it to my favourite sports at high school, but it had grown on me. I found netball challenging and fun. And it came with a lot of life lessons.”

Watching Maria Folau of New Zealand and SA's Lenize Potgieter captivated a young Maseko and she dreamed of being like them.

“They were my role models. And little did I know that five years later Lenize would be my teammate,” she chuckles “At the moment I don’t have any role models, I have girls looking up to me now.”

And with the World Cup on the horizon, she knows she will have an effect on young girls' outlooks on the sport and life.

“I feel like this opportunity (to play at the World Cup) is making me a beacon of hope for girls who wouldn’t dream they can get there. This sport is greater than me. It is about the people back home, people who look up to me, the young girls who aspire to be in the position I am in. For me this World Cup is a dream come true. It feels surreal.”

While she will be playing at the global showpiece for the first time, Maseko has fond memories of previous World Cups.

“I remember when we beat England four years ago and we finished in position three in the world. For me that proved it is possible to be on the podium and get that medal. So for me, that will always be my great memory because I saw that when I was still at a tender age and aspiring to be there.”

Now that she is in the World Cup team, Maseko is determined to do her best to help SA get to the podium.

But it's still a year away and Maseko is yet to catch the fever.

“In all honesty, I have not felt the World Cup rush yet, given our performance at the Commonwealth Games. I just feel there is still a lot of hard work for us to do. But I am looking forward to the World Cup and I anticipate good things from us as the Proteas.”