South West student Jayden Fenn, 11, puts netball skills to the test as part of inaugural 12/U State boys team

A student at a Dardanup school has encouraged other boys to give netball a try after competing at a State level.

Our Lady of Lourdes student Jayden Fenn, 11, competed in a national tournament held in Perth last week as the only South West member of the inaugural School Sport WA 12 and under boys netball team.

He started playing the sport only last year after the girls at his school need a player for their team.

“I joked around and told them I would play as long as I could wear shorts,” Jayden said.

What followed was a love for the game. Jayden has now played two seasons within the Bunbury Netball Association, with his team winning this year’s division four grand final.

“When my mum asked if I wanted to try out for the first ever boys State team I immediately said ‘yes’,” he said.

“I had to do tryouts over a number of weeks and each time the pool of people selected was reduced. When I saw my name in the final players list I got really excited.”

The selection required a lot of commitment, with Jayden being required to travel to Perth twice a week to train with his teammates.

His family fundraised to support the cost of the travel, with a number of small businesses jumping on board to support his journey.

The WA team placed fourth overall in the competition.

“The whole national championship was a lot of fun and I made heaps of new friends,” Jayden said.

“Playing 10 games over five days was really fun but tiring — the intensity was full on at this level.”

His favourite position is goal defence, which allows him to both run around the court and defend against a potential opposition goal.

One of the things Jayden loves about the game is uniqueness of each player and their talents, which combined make a “perfect team”.

“Anything can happen at any point, a great interception can completely change the game,” he said.

Jayden encouraged others to give the game a go.

“I would love to see boys playing netball more regularly and never be afraid to give it a try.”