Adelaide Thunderbirds and Melbourne Mavericks midcourter Maisie Nankivell reflects on growing up in regional South Australia and her grandmother challenging her to develop skills in both sides of her body to, rising through every state age group, earning a SASI scholarship, balancing an unexpected AFLW opportunity alongside her netball career, and becoming a premiership player with the Adelaide Thunderbirds. She opens up on leadership, confidence, pressure, and why coaching and inspiring the next generation now sits at the heart of her journey on and off the court.

What sports were you first introduced to when you were growing up in Mundulla?

Being a country girl, you were sort of forced into every sport available. For me, netball was obviously a top pick, but on the side I also did tennis, ballet, swimming and cross-country athletics. I think when you are young, it is so important to try all those different sports and see which ones you like. You also get to meet so many people along the way. A lot of my friends in primary school were playing a lot of different sports, so being able to play with them made it more fun.

With two older brothers, was competitiveness fostered early in backyard games? Or did you find that sort of later years in sport? 

We were always competitive with each other. With my older brother William, I always tagged along and tried to be better than him. Backyard cricket would get a bit heated at times. But to this day, Mum says, “I am glad you had older brothers because I think that is what made you tough.” I think it built a lot of my character, and I look back on those times and wish I could go back and spend that time with my brothers because they are now in Adelaide, so I rarely get to see them.

In researching for this chat, one thing that we stood out was learning about your journey and learning about your journey was how involved your grandma was in your early netball development, even helping you practice in the backyard and training you to be strong on both sides of your body. What do you remember about those backyard sessions and how do you think that sort of shaped your love of the game? 

Grandma is a huge part of why I am here today and playing at the top level. Any spare time that I had when visiting her was always spent in the backyard. I was always an active kid, and from a very young age I always wanted to be the best at everything, whether that was schoolwork or sport. I have Grandma to thank for this because she was always in the backyard throwing the netball and trying to challenge me. She was also big on being able to use both your left and right hand when playing, and that is something I bring into my game now. She is a huge supporter of mine and she loves coming to my games. She’s an absolute netball nut.

How would you describe your netball pathway in those junior years? 

I think it was very up and down at times. I haven’t had the perfect journey. I always put my hand up to try out for any team that I could. I was very fortunate because I got picked in Under 12s, Under 15s, Under 17s and Under 19s, all in the state side for those teams. But there were a couple of teams that I missed out on along the way. I was actually told that I was too small, and after not getting selected for one of the teams, I cried the whole way home.

But I think missing out built a fire in me to want to come back and make the team the next year. I thought if I didn’t have the height, then I was going to be the fittest or have the best skills. I really had that mentality that I was going to go out there the next year and prove them wrong. I’ve had to do that across my entire career, as things never come easy, you always have to work hard for what you want.

In 2019, you were drafted in the AFLW, and you were also playing netball for the Thunderbirds. Can you tell us a little bit about your experience with managing the dual sports and your decision making process behind choosing netball?

That football opportunity caught me by surprise. I think netball was always what I had worked towards. So then to get the call from footy and that opportunity to play for the Adelaide Crows was something I didn’t want to turn down. I was fortunate enough to play a season with the Crows, but then it got to a point where I had to choose if I wanted to keep pursuing football or continue with netball.

Last year, you made a really big decision to move to Melbourne and join the newly founded Mavericks club. How was that experience coming together with the Mavericks for that first season together? 

It was super exciting when Tracey gave me the call and said, “We really want you to come and be a part of this.” It was very hard to say no to that opportunity. To be a part of a club that was starting from scratch was so exciting. We got input into the logos, branding and colours. Looking back, it is special to have that once in a lifetime experience of being part of the club from the beginning and playing the first game and first season for that team.

You’ve also spoken about your leadership style as being very approachable and supportive. Who would you say that you’ve modelled that leadership style off of? 

A lot of the leaders I’ve had have been really empathetic and people focused, and I think that’s something I value and have adopted into my leadership style.

I want to make everyone feel included in the team. I think you’ve got to be kind to everyone because you never know what people are going through. So leading in a way that makes people feel comfortable, supported and that they can open up is really important.

As netball players, we love what we do, but it can be hard at times, so being someone my teammates can lean on is really important to me as a leader.

How do you manage expectations and nerves, especially during high pressure matches?

Playing at the highest level, there can be a lot of pressure. It is not just the pressure that other people put on you, it is also the pressure that you put on yourself. If you ask any athlete, we are our own biggest critics. There are always hard times when you are playing at the highest level, and there are always outside critics who will have their say.

But having belief in yourself is important. You have to recognise how hard you work and what you have sacrificed to be there.

You’ve spoken before about confidence and how it doesn’t always come naturally. You’re obviously an experienced netball coach, but when you’re working with young athletes struggling with confidence, what’s some advice that you would give them? 

Confidence is hard because for a lot of people it doesn’t come naturally. Even for me, being a country girl, I was super shy. Once netball started becoming more serious and I was playing with women who were older than me, and I was outside my comfort zone, I matured a lot quicker than the girls my age. It felt like I was fast-tracked to find my voice and confidence from those playing experiences. For anyone struggling with confidence, I think it comes back to believing in yourself. 

Everyone doubts themselves at times, but you have to focus on the things you can control, like working really hard.

Reading your playbook reviews, it’s really obvious that you’re very generous with your game knowledge. Do you think that coaching has changed your perception of the game at all? 

My favourite thing about coaching is seeing the progress of my athletes. 

In week one, you are just assessing where the athlete is at, and by the end of a block of coaching, they have become an amazing player and have developed confidence in themselves. When they start out, a lot of girls are unsure of their skills or which position they should be in.

By working with them and instilling belief and confidence, you get to see them grow into really good players.

When you’re coaching mid -courters, what are those top three things that you like to focus on in sessions? 

Having good fundamental skills is key, so I focus on ball handling and hand-eye coordination. If you have really good basic skills, you can build from there. As a midcourter, you’re always told to never be standing still, and any midcourter loves having the ball in their hands, so it is important to make sure you are dynamic and agile. If you lead and don’t get the ball, it’s okay. You don’t need to panic. You just need to make new space and drive into it, being on the move makes it harder for a defender. I also focus on movement and being decisive in what you’re doing. If you see an option, don’t hesitate to give the ball to someone in the same dress as you. Even if you only gain a metre, you still pass it to someone in your team, then you can go again and keep working from there.

And talking about life outside of netball, you’ve studied Criminology and Law. What drew you to that field and what are you hoping to do with that degree? 

I love this question because people always assume that as a professional netballer I would study sports science or nutrition or something closely linked to sport, but I have done the opposite. I’m super passionate about crime, law and criminal justice, and I think it stems from my parents. Growing up, both my parents were police officers, and now my oldest brother is one too, so I have always been around criminology and law. With netball being as busy as it is, I don’t get to use my degree, so I’m trying to keep my thinking in the area to expand my knowledge. You never know when your career as a professional athlete is going to be over, so I think it is important to have something to fall back into. In the future, I would love to get into detective or profiling work with the police.

Book your very own session with Maisie here: Netball sessions with Maisie Nankivell

Love learning about netball insights? Learn more about Paige Hadley’s take on leadership, Kiera Austin on making mistakes, Staying Motivated with Romelda Aiken or Tara Hinchliffe’s journey.

Interested in building confidence, or competitiveness, in your young athlete? Here are some other articles on these two great topics: How to help children build competitiveness, the right way and Children gain more than confidence when they play sport