IF you have a young child who sits around idly letting life slide by without any concern for embracing the opportunities that sport can present you should take them along to watch a 12 year old girl reveal what “having a go” is all about.
Mia Kertesz came into this world as a short statured person or what most say as a little person.
Life was always going to be more difficult for her, especially when it came to competing in sport.
Basketball can be no better example of those difficulties. On Saturday at WestMAC College Mia lined up with the junior school basketball team ready to take on the visiting Cannon Hill Anglican squad. WestMAC’s team of inexperienced young basketballers numbered just six, while the visitors had 10 girls eager and ready to show the results of their regular skills training.
As the temperature soared to one of our hottest days of the year the outside courts at WestMAC weren’t for the feint hearted.
Mia took the court as she has done for years looking for no special favours, she was just ready to do her bit for her teammates.
Mum Deanne, a representative netball player and coach was helping to guide the girls on Saturday, she wasn’t there to make it easy for her daughter.
Mia’s commitment to the game was on show during every quarter and in every minute she was on the court.
With Cannon Hill subbing in a completely new team every 10 minutes it was always going to be an impossible challenge, but that didn’t stop Mia and her team from competing to the best of their ability.
The final scoreline was irrelevant, although the name Mia Kertesz did go down on the scorer’s sheet.
For Mia and her mum it was just another normal day out for them to embrace a love of sport and competition.
Basketball is just one sport Mia is enjoying, as a T40 athlete she has set numerous junior athletics awards on the track and in the field and she also runs cross country, swims and if that’s no enough adds in games of netball and soccer.
Her performances have been noted by Australian sports officials and she was recently named in the national team to compete in the World Dwarf Games in Cologne, Germany.
“It will present an opportunity for Mia that she rarely has and that’s to compete on a level playing field with athletes of a similar stature,” Deanne said.
“Mia is super excited to finally compete in soccer and basketball where she won’t feel intimidated by the height of others or where she needs to have the rules modified for her to get the ball,” she said.
Mia said that sport was an important part of her life. “I’m aware I am a little different to most, but playing team sport enables to be one of the group and I enjoy the interaction with my fellow players,” Mia said.
While Mia does plenty of talking on the court, off it she does little, especially when asked about her recent selection.
That’s understandable because getting selected to go to Germany does not necessarily mean she will be there.
First the family needs to raise at least $6000 for airfares and other costs and currently they are looking for sponsors.
