FORMER Carmel College student Jemma Mi Mi will play for the Queensland Firebirds for the next two seasons.
The 20-year-old said it was really exciting to commit to the team she had long aspired to play for.
Mi Mi recalled a coaching clinic run by Firebird Laura Geitz when the Redlander was in year 11.
“She asked who wanted to be a Firebird and I thought then that it would never happen,” said Mi Mi.
“Now I look back and I think that if you work hard anything can happen.”
Mi Mi first played netball in an under eight Arana Hills team.
She said her coaches each year had been good and helped with her development.
“It really means everything to me to have made it to the big league and have all my training pay off.”
Mi Mi said she had not expected to be selected so quickly, but was ready to make her mark.
Firebirds coach Roselee Jencke said Mi Mi would offer a point of difference for the side.
“This will be a step up for Jemma, but a really exciting one and one where she can really hone her skills,” she said.
“She’s got speed to burn and it’ll be great to be able to use that throughout the season when we need to change up our game and give the opposition something else to think about.”
Hoping to make a career out of netball, Mi Mi is in her second year of a Bachelor of Clinical Exercise Physiology.
She hopes to be selected for the Diamonds in future, but in the meantime has selection for the under 21 World Cup team to play in Botswana next year in her sights.
Mi Mi starts pre-season training in November, ahead of the team’s first game in February.
