\u201cI was sort of umming and ahhing because I knew that was quite a big-time commitment and I wanted to put my focus into getting into med school,\u201d the five-test Silver Fern said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI ended up going to the trials, and I\u2019m glad I did because if I hadn\u2019t, I wouldn\u2019t be here where I am now.\u201d<\/p>\n
Catherine Hall in action for the Northern Mystics against the Mainland Tactix. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Even after being put on the radar, Hall said she still \u201cwasn\u2019t determined to be a professional netballer\u201d, rather focusing on gaining entrance to med school.<\/p>\n
\u201cI just wanted to enjoy my netball and see how far I could go, and then the opportunities came \u2026 it all just happened really.\u201d<\/p>\n
The opportunities certainly did come, and with them a workload that would send many into shock.<\/p>\n
In 2024, Hall had her first year on a full-time contract with the Mystics while also entering her third year of med school, creating what turned out to be a \u201cvery busy year\u201d.<\/p>\n
Her schedule can vary depending on her contrasting vocations. A big training day from 9am-3pm would be followed by lectures in the afternoon, whereas an afternoon-only training would allow her to go to laboratory classes and crank out some coursework in the morning. Weekends would be employed for study as well, along with preparing and playing netball.<\/p>\n
In true Kiwi fashion, Hall credited her supportive parents and the Mystics for helping her through those long days, especially with mum being a doctor.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s good to talk things through with her and have her opinion on things,\u201d she said. \u201cI\u2019ve had to miss a few trainings for exams and things like that … If they [Mystics] weren\u2019t understanding, I wouldn\u2019t have been able to do what I did.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mystics head coach Tia Winikerei said it was always known to the team that Hall was going to pursue med school. She highlighted the importance the organisation places on supporting every player in all parts of their life, as well as employing an open-door policy if adjustments need to be made.<\/p>\n
The third-year coach didn\u2019t hesitate to point out how Hall\u2019s \u201chardly missed\u201d any training sessions in her entire time with the Mystics, speaking volumes to her character.<\/p>\n
\u201cCatherine\u2019s incredibly driven. She\u2019s really organised [and] she\u2019s really diligent, so she plans her years of study with us \u2026 100% proactive in what she\u2019s doing,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
Tia Winikerei: “Catherine’s incredibly driven. She’s really organised.” Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
Winikerei laughed as she recalled how Hall\u2019s organisation and preparation trickles down to even the simplest of things, such as her star defender carrying muesli bars wherever she goes to keep the energy levels up.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I\u2019m saying is she\u2019s diligently prepared herself for every space that she needs to be in \u2026 her hard work is next level.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019d be easy to imagine how self-doubt could creep in, considering the pressures of professional sporting environments and med school, but Hall expressed a mindset fitting to a person with her work ethic.<\/p>\n
\u201cTo be honest, I probably expected it to be worse. I never really felt like I was in over my head,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI never really stopped and looked back and questioned what the right decision was \u2013 I was quite happy with it. When I wasn\u2019t playing netball, I was doing uni, and when I wasn\u2019t doing uni, I was playing netball. I didn\u2019t have much time for much else, but I was really enjoying what I was doing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mindset was a big talking point for the 21-year-old, as she had to adjust her own expectations of what academic success looked like.<\/p>\n
Mystics defender Catherine Hall in action against the Pulse’s Tiana Metuarau. Photo \/ Photosport<\/p>\n
\u201cI was used to wanting to always get A-pluses and always get the top grades, but sort of being realistic and saying, \u2018hey, you\u2019re playing netball. You can do your best, but you don\u2019t have to be top of the class\u2019, sort of thing.\u201d<\/p>\n
Adds Winikerei: \u201cI\u2019ve always said to her, \u2018we\u2019ll make however we need [it], to work\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe team are really proud of Catherine for being able to pursue that [and] we are openly supportive of her commitments around that.\u201d<\/p>\n
The study certainly hasn\u2019t hampered Hall\u2019s ascension in the netball world. If anything, it\u2019s amplified it.<\/p>\n
The towering 1.91m tall defender was rewarded with a first-time selection into the Silver Ferns squad this year, debuting against South Africa. The call-up left her in disbelief, and as a result, she\u2019s simply grateful to be involved in the environment.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s something I didn\u2019t expect to happen so soon. I\u2019m just wanting to go on like a sponge and soak everything up … I\u2019ve already learned so much,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
It came as no surprise to her regional coach, as Winikerei said Hall\u2019s level of dedication to her craft supplements her natural talent and athleticism to a tee.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe has a very quick uptake [and] she\u2019s highly coachable,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s curious enough to go, \u2018I don\u2019t quite get that\u2019, but then she\u2019ll give it a go and she\u2019ll work it out very quickly \u2026 she\u2019s got the potential to be a world-class athlete.\u201d<\/p>\n
As for her future with med school, Hall has deferred her fourth year of study, because the course requires placement hours she described as \u201cpretty much like a full-time nine-to-five job\u201d.<\/p>\n
She\u2019s now doing an honours degree, an optional segment of the medical degree which involves creating a part-time research project over the course of 2025 and 2026.<\/p>\n
However, Hall is adamant she\u2019ll return to full-time med school down the line.<\/p>\n
\u201cUltimately, I want to be a doctor, and that\u2019s a career that I can have for my whole life. You can\u2019t play netball your whole life.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"\u201cI was sort of umming and ahhing because I knew that was quite a big-time commitment and I…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":121348,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[19103,13500,31787,10541,6101,57236,85324,5829,3523,300,16762,111,139,69,90,2847,384,4056,5415,12886,4062,7457,213,16720,1077,1361,4504,6123,102,80],"class_list":["post-121347","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-sports","tag-attend","tag-catherine","tag-doing","tag-ferns","tag-good","tag-hall","tag-juggling","tag-many","tag-medical","tag-money","tag-netball","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-on","tag-only","tag-people","tag-person","tag-playing","tag-professional","tag-school","tag-silver","tag-sports","tag-studies","tag-successfully","tag-that","tag-theres","tag-while","tag-with","tag-zealand"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121347","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=121347"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/121347\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/121348"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=121347"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=121347"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=121347"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}