Last week it was announced Taylor was selected in Netball Victoria’s Northern Region Talent Academy, alongside some of the best young players in the state.

Just 24 girls, including Taylor and Ararat’s Racquel Scott, were named in the Northern Academy.  

“I was a little shocked because there were so many people that tried out. It was pretty exciting though,” Taylor said.

The 14-year-old Stawell Warrior has played in a number of representative teams but this academy will be the highest level of competition she will have participated in.

The academy is a pathway for young netballers to make their way to high-performance teams such as state and national representation.

As a part of the high-performance pathway, athletes are selected to trial for their nearest academy (six academy regions) at Netball Victoria’s talent identification events such as association championships and state titles.

Taylor has been one of Stawell’s standout junior players in recent seasons, winning the 13 and under league best and fairest last year as well as regularly playing representative netball.

At such a young age, Taylor said she doesn’t know exactly where an opportunity like this might take her.

“I will just follow it along and see where it takes me,” she said.

“It would be great to play for Victoria at some point I think.”

Academy members will participate in training camps as well as inter-academy competitions to increase their knowledge and understanding of the game.

Taylor has played limited senior netball, but as she gets older she is keen to take on more opportunities.

“I’ll see what comes up next season. We have already started pre-season training,” she said.

“Players like Jemma (Clarkson) and Jade (Cross) are really nice and helpful so I will keep trying to learn from them.”

Taylor has played in every position on the court at different stages of her young career. She said she prefers the mid-court and hopes to develop those skills in the academy.

“Since I am bottom age the focus is just on developing my skills and tactical strategy and taking in all I can from specialist coaches,” she said.