AS A STAPLE in state and even national performance squads in recent years, Bendigo's Will Whiteacre has become accustomed to playing his netball against boys and men much older than himself.
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While always acquitting himself well, and even excelling, the 15-year-old admits his newest netball honour is going to take more than your average test of resilience and mental fortitude.
Whiteacre, who first took up netball at age nine, is preparing to attend his first Australian Kelpies selection camp - the Kelpies being the men's national netball team.
At 15, he is by far the youngest member of the 28-player training squad, which will train for four days at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra later this month.
The next youngest squad member is 17, soon to be 18, with the bulk of the squad having represented their respective states at open level at the recent men's and mixed netball championships in Brisbane.
Whiteacre - a student at Catherine McAuley College in Bendigo - played in Victoria's 20-and-under team, which finished as the runner-up behind Western Australia.
It was his performances in Brisbane that earned him a call-up to the Kelpies squad.
"Nationals was a pretty long week; we played 13 games of netball," he said.
"It was a lot of court time for me, but I just tried to make the most of every minute I was out there.
"I was pretty happy with how I played ... (it was) a pretty consistent week.
"WA beat us in the grand final, but they deserved it. We played them four times and we only beat them once, so it was theirs to lose."
Excited to be selected for his first Kelpies training camp, Whiteacre is heading to Canberra with modest expectations, given his young age and the size of the squad, which boasts 28 players, all vying for about 12 spots in the national team.
"I'm not expecting anything at that high of a level, but it's going to be an experience," he said.
"I'm really keen to learn off the older boys with more experience.
"It will be a good step in my netball career.
"When I started playing (at nine), I never thought I'd get to do anything like this. I didn't even know what men's netball was back then, I was just playing netball for fun."
Whiteacre will head to Canberra with plenty of netball under his belt, having only recently returned from nationals and having spent the last seven months as a training partner with the Bendigo Strikers 23-and-under team, coached by Jayden Cowling.
A gold medallist with Victoria's open men's team at the nationals, Cowling was also selected in the Kelpies squad.
Whiteacre is thrilled to have a familiar face joining him in Canberra.
"I know we were both very excited for each other. Jayden had a great nationals," he said.
"The Strikers has been great for me, especially learning under some new coaches and with a new bunch of players."
Always looking to further develop his game, Whiteacre has been umpiring games for BFNL club Golden Square this season.
And while it is still months away, he is counting down the days to the start of the M-League season in August, when will again line up for powerhouse club Waverley District.
The Kelpies camp won't be Whiteacre's first national team experience.
He played for the Australian 17-and-under team in last year's New Zealand nationals.
The Australians lost just one game during the tournament and easily defeated the New Zealand 17-and-under team in an invitational match on the final day of the championships.
Whiteacre, who just ticked off his third nationals, after having represented Victoria in the 17-and-under division in 2022 and '23, said he was proud to be a part of what has become a bit of a boom in men's netball.
He feels the growth of the sport is reflected strongly in Bendigo, which is home to three Australian male squad members.
Besides himself and Cowling, fellow Strikers training partner Ollie Ryan spent last weekend in Sydney at a national 17-and-under selection camp.
"It's really exciting for Ollie being in the 17s squad. He had a really great nationals and I was fully expecting him to get picked," he said.
"Three Bendigo players in national squads is really great for the development of men's netball. We really want to put it on the map.
"Having lots of young boys wanting to play is exciting.
"Hopefully, we are not too far away from our own men's competition in Bendigo - hopefully in the next five years.
"I'd love to be a part of it."
Strikers 23-and-under coach Cowling said Whiteacre had made a strong impression on the squad, in particular, on their weekly preparation.
"He really makes our girls step-up at training," he said.
"Growing up, when I started playing netball, there weren't too many male netballers that were natural netballers, they were more cross-code athletes.
"Will is just a typical netballer. He has the netball brain, the netball smarts and everything he does is the netball way.
"At the Strikers, he is great in our one-on-one drills and match-play. He and Ollie (Ryan) add another whole element to training.
"To get invited to a Kelpies camp at such a young age is an amazing achievement.
"We really have to 'watch this space' with Will.
"It's probably the first time ever someone of his age has been invited to a Kelpies camp, so that just shows you the level of talent he has.
"I'm sure we will see Will in the green and gold for a long time to come."
Three Bendigo players in national squads is really great for the development of men's netball. We really want to put it on the map
- Will Whiteacre
