The one sure way to get Marichelle Visagie’s adrenaline pumping is to hand her a netball and tell her to go play.
“Netball is my happy place. Nothing comes close to being on the court with teammates united in one goal: to win. It is when memories are made and nothing else matters,” explains the third-year Tuks BSc Sports Science student.
Visagie and her Tuks teammates certainly will hope to create some magic on the court from next Sunday when they face off against UJ in their first Varsity Netball encounter.
She readily admits that it will be a challenging game, especially since the Proteas netball captain, Bongiwe Msomi, is coaching UJ. The team is competitive every time they step on the court.
On paper, Tuks seems to be a young team. Still, their opponents could regret underestimating them in the Varsity Tournament. During the recent USSA Tournament, Tuks only lost twice. On both occasions, it was against last year’s Varsity Champions Maties. Maties ended up beating Tuks 49-42 in the USSA final.
According to Visagie, what Tuks might need experience wise, they make up with their never say die attitude.
“It is a case of the stiffer the competition, the better we play.”
Visagie plays as a goal attack and is pretty good at doing so. Playing for the Boababs in the Telkom League, she ended up being the best shooter of the B-section.
Surprisingly the Tuks player has never played any position other than goal attack.
“I have been playing as a goal attack since eight. So I know the tricks of the trade. One of the things I bring to a team is certainty because of how I play. I am confident in what I can do.
“The challenge for me as a goal attack is to be a playmaker. You have to be able to read the game to know when to do what. I like to keep my opponents guessing as to what I might do. Depending on what is happening on the court, I might shoot for a goal or try to set the goal shooter up to be in a more favourable position to score.”
The Varsity Netball Tournament starts on Sunday, 20 August at Wits. Tuks will play UJ at 17:00. On Monday at 15:00, Tuks plays UWC.
