Emily Chalk
Silver Ferns shooting star Amelia Walmsley has always known her dad Kerry would be there when it mattered. But on the eve of last season’s ANZ Premiership grand final with her body battered and the pressure mounting, it was the steadying voice of the former Black Caps fast bowler she needed more than ever.
Pushed to the limit
Amelia had painfully dislocated both of her shoulders during the Central Pulse’s elimination final victory – one slipping forward, the other backward – casting serious doubt over whether the talented young goal shoot would take the court for the season’s finale against the Northern Mystics the following weekend.
When specialists delivered the crushing news that she might need double shoulder reconstruction, sidelining her from netball for the rest of the year, the then-20-year-old was devastated.
“It was just awful,” recalls Amelia.
Dad’s words, her anchor
“I called my dad crying after I got my MRI results and he was just like, ‘Take a deep breath.’ He said, ‘There are so many ifs, buts and maybes, so there’s no point getting upset over something that isn’t confirmed yet.’ “He was so settling in that moment and he was right. He’s almost finished a degree in counselling, so he’s very good now at listening and asking me, ‘So how does that make you feel?’ and all that kind of stuff!”
Amelia had already missed seven weeks of the ANZ Premiership season after slipping on court and injuring her knee – the first major injury of her career – but her speedy recovery would help with her next setback.
Back on court, against the odds
“It was touch and go that I’d need the double shoulder reconstruction,” she recalls.
“But then the surgeons were very confident that the way I’d rehabbed my knee meant I could rehab well and be OK.”
Kerry, who played cricket for New Zealand before Amelia was born. His eldest daughter returned to the grand final court, both shoulders wrapped in strapping tape-no surprise to him.
More than just a game
Says Kerry, “She’s mentally tough. At 17, she drove on her own from Auckland to Wellington, where she went to live, and I don’t think I would have been capable of that! “But she also wears her
heart on her sleeve because netball means so much to her. I was like that when I was playing cricket, but I shied away from the tough situations. Yet Amelia seems to thrive in those situations.”
Amelia’s shoulders were so heavily strapped, she had to change her shooting style for that game. She showed visible upset after the Pulse lost by a single goal. But her dad was able to console her again.
A father’s quiet strength
“He’s been a massive influence on my life and super-supportive since I was really young,” shares Amelia.
“He’s one of those dads who wants his kids to be happy and does whatever he can to make that happen. He’s always offered the advice you need or sometimes advice you didn’t want to hear. “But he isn’t afraid to let his three daughters know how proud of us he is all the time. It’s very special.”
Strength through setbacks
Back home in Auckland over the summer, Amelia was struck by a mystery illness that doctors couldn’t put a finger on. Which knocked back her pre-season training. Kerry was astounded by the way she came through it.
He recalls, “She was horizontal for eight weeks. She was quite ill. She’s had some really big challenges lately, but she keeps overcoming them. She’s very diligent and very driven, so I don’t have to help her with motivation. But when she needs me, I’m happy to be her sounding board.”
Always close, even from afar
Amelia admits she misses her family – including her mum Lesley, and younger sisters Kyah and Bella – but they’re always there to support her. “I just had a tonsillectomy and Mum came down to Wellington to take care of me,” she says.
“We’re really good at communicating and calling, which makes it much easier.”
Amelia often yearns for home and the east Auckland beaches, like Maraetai, near where she grew up. “We spent heaps of time near the water,” she says.
“We still love going on the jetski or grabbing coffees and going for walks on the beach.”
Finding her feet in Wellington
With her health back on track, Amelia’s now enjoying her fourth season with the Pulse. She moved to Wellington as a naïve 17-year-old.
“I had no idea what I was doing,” she admits.
“And I found myself spending a lot of time with the whole team.”
After starting up a friendship with teammates Maddy Gordon and Parris Mason, the trio became flatmates.
“This is our third year living with each other and it’s super-fun,” reveals Amelia.
Flatmates, friends, ferns
“Some people might think it’s all-consuming living with your teammates, but we have a really good balance of netball talk and general talk. “Mase [Parris] is a bit messy and Maddy loves to keep a really clean house, but we don’t get on each other’s nerves. We understand each other really well, so it’s cool.”
A star on the rise
All three flatmates are now Silver Ferns as well. Amelia became Fern no.184 in 2023, when the cool, calm 19-year-old starred in a must-win test against England. She plans to move back home to Auckland after the national league finishes to concentrate on her international netball career.
The rangy 1.92m-tall shooter is likely to be an anchor in the New Zealand Under 21 side to play at the Netball World Youth Cup in Gibraltar in September. And could also find herself as the top goal shoot for the Silver Ferns this season. With Grace Nweke now unavailable after choosing to play in Australia’s Super Netball league.
“It will be different this year without Grace, who’s a massive presence in the Ferns environment,” says Amelia.
“But this offers opportunities for other players too and a chance for the Ferns to explore a different kind of game. “I’m trying not to put too much pressure on myself, but it’s a super-cool opportunity
to establish myself in the Ferns shooting circle.”Outside her full-time netball contract, Amelia’s studying part-time towards a degree in digital marketing, minoring in journalism. “I’m doing distance learning through Massey University, so I can do it wherever I am in the world,” she explains.
“If I wasn’t playing netball, I would have studied architecture. But I’m finding my study really interesting.”
For now, netball remains her unwavering priority, with her star continuing to rise – supported every step of the way by her family.
