Co-Captain of Avis Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, Erena Mikaere will reach the 150th milestone today when the Magic play against Te Wānanga o Raukawa Pulse at Claudelands Arena in Kirikiriroa.
“150 games and completing that at the Magics is unreal for me. I started my career at the Magic as a young teenager, as a training partner and then filtered in there to the team. So giving that opportunity to be able to finish or have that milestone at Magic again is unreal and I think it’s a club that holds close to my heart,” says Erena Mikaere.
Descendant of Tūhourangi, Ngāti Wāhiao and Ngāti Whakaue, Mikaere’s passion for netball comes from her enjoying playing competitive sport alongside friends growing up as well as striving to be the best version of herself.
“I think my passion for Netball comes from as a young player wanting to just play with my friends and the competitiveness kicked in and then I realised I actually enjoy competitive sport and I think just to push to be the best version I can be,” according to Mikaere.
Coach of the Magic, Mary-Jane Araroa acknowledged Mikaere’s milestone, saying it’s special to have her in the team as this is where her career began.
“It’s a massive milestone and it’s a wonderful achievement for someone like Erena. I was talking to some of our management committee and saying how special it is to have her in this team right now where her journey began,” Araroa says.
Araroa also acknowledged Mikaere’s leadership, saying she is the heart of the Magic.
“Erena was selected because she is the heart of Magic and one of the things that she does really well is lead with genuine manaakitanga and aroha. So she is very experienced as well and she’s been across a lot of teams and some of the worlds best leagues and so you know that experience you can’t get away from,” according to Araroa.
Mikaere aspires to keep the sport of netball thriving, saying it’s a possible career opportunity for rangatahi who are passionate about netball.
“Looking forward, I just want to keep the sport in a good place, I think we need to come up with ways to allow netball to grow and thrive and what it is, it’s a great sport, it’s a women’s leading sport and how can we continue to drive that and for my daughter as well. I think just creating the career opportunities for our young rangatahi to come through and still be able to play the sport we love and that they love,” Mikaere says.