Ollie Ryan grasps 17-and-under national squad opportunity with both hands

Outside of school netball, the 16-year-old has played competitive netball and been a part of high-performance squads for only a couple of years.

In the absence of a grassroots club to actually call home, much of his netball development has come through his participation at the Association Championships and State Titles and his involvement at the Bendigo Academy of Sport (BAS) and more recently with VNL newcomers the Bendigo Strikers.

But underpinning his prodigious talent and potential, Ryan has made every moment count on his way to being selected in the Australian 17-and-under squad.

Ryan - one of two male training partners with the Bendigo Strikers 23-and-under squad - is spending this weekend in Sydney trialling for a spot in the national team.

While he is anticipating a baptism of fire, the young and versatile midcourter is intent on soaking up every minute of his first national squad experience.

"It's going to be pretty hectic. We'll land and go to our accommodation, but from there we will be straight into training and be doing a lot of running, I hear," Ryan said.

"There will be a lot of match-play every day, which I am going to love.

"It will be great doing that under a different coach from the ones I have had so far.

"Every experience is a learning experience that I'm able to take a lot away from."

Ryan, the son of well-known Bendigo and Victorian netball identity Melissa Ryan and Bendigo cricket identity Tony, was chosen in the national squad on the strength of his performances at last month's men's and mixed nationals in Brisbane.

His 17-and-under team finished as national champions, defeating South Australia 62-61 in an overtime thriller.

What followed was the first of a few shocks, when he was named in the All-Star Seven alongside a bunch of his Victorian teammates.

Then came the phone call three weeks ago that stunned him, when he was informed of his national squad selection.

While Ryan, who turns 17 next month, admits his grounding in netball has been extremely beneficial, he has taken nothing for granted along the way in achieving his goals.

"I've been around a pretty elite environment with mum through her involvement with Victorian Fury, Boroondara (Express) and MU at VNL level, so I'm a bit used to it," he said.

"But while I have been around the sport forever ... I think mum was taking me to Sandhurst training when I was about four days old .... applying myself has been the key.

"My first time actually competing was with the Bendigo Academy of Sport last year.

"That transitioned into me trialling with the 17-and-under Victorian team and from there I was able to play nationals.

"They've all been valuable learning experiences."

Another key moment for Ryan was his participation at last year's Association's Championships in which his team, coached by Vanessa Saunders and playing under the banner of the Castlemaine District Netball Association, finished as semi-finalists.

A slightly revamped side, also coached by Saunders, represented North Central at this year's State Titles in Bendigo.

With the nationals over, Ryan's only training environments outside this weekend's national selection camp have been his involvement with the BAS and as a training partner with the Strikers.

He is clearly relishing the excitement and anticipation that has accompanied the Strikers first foray into the state's premier netball competition in 2024.

"It's been great to dust a few of the cobwebs off at training after nationals," he said.

"It's a high-intensity, high-performance training environment.

"Jayden Cowling is a great coach to learn under and so is (assistant coach) Tarryn Rymer. They are both rippers.

"I have no real team to play for at the moment, so I'm looking forward to the M-League later in the year."

There is sure to be plenty of Melbourne clubs inquiring about his services in the months before the M-League season launches in the latter part of this year.

Ryan was as thrilled as anyone at the announcement this week that his fellow Strikers training partner Will Whiteacre and coach Cowling had been picked in the Australian Kelpies squad to attend a selection camp in Canberra later this month.

"It's great to see all of the Strikers boys have been able to further our games, and Mackenzie O'Dwyer and Harriet Gall as well in the Australian 17s and 19s squads," he said.

"It's great for our club and great to share in each others' achievements.

"Bendigo has always been a really strong netball region, so it's great to see the boys adding to it.

"We had a few from Bendigo playing nationals, Jayden, Will and myself and also Sam Milne, who lives in Melbourne now, but was from here.

"It's a really good men's netball scene here and it's only getting better.