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Leota
Rising Star Renee Facing Tough Sporting Decision
by Jeremy Ruane
Renee Leota is very much a talented young sports star in hot demand at present.
The multi-talented fifteen-year-old is already a dual international for New Zealand, having represented this country in both basketball and football within the past twelve months.
She's already had to turn down one code in favour of the other when they had a clash of international dates earlier this year, and such is her prowess in both ball codes that the time is getting steadily nearer when Renee is faced with making the biggest decision of her young sports-filled life.
The court sport first courted her attention at international level in 2005, selecting Renee for NZ Under-16 duty. But the lure of making the World Cup Finals in her other sporting love saw Wellington-born Leota lining up for her country in Samoa in April, where qualification for the 2006 Women's World Cup Finals in August was achieved.
So she knew full well what was coming when discussing her career to date at the Toleafoa JS Blatter Football Fields in Apia …
“Everyone asks this question of me!”, she exclaimed, before eliciting a carefully considered answer which outlines her train of thought on one of the more pleasant dilemmas one could face in one's life.
“I made a choice this year with soccer, 'cause I'd love to go to Russia, and also because I feel soccer has taken me that little bit further with being selected for this team.
“I was selected for the NZ Under-18 basketball squad at the same time, but had to withdraw once I got the letter to say I'd been selected for the Oceania Under-20 qualifiers. There was no stopping me from putting football first after that!”
However, there is still hope for Basketball NZ. “Basketball is always something I can fall back on. I love the game. I got into it through playing at school, and went from there to playing in small groups and clubs, which ultimately led to my being selected for New Zealand at Under-16 level last year.
“At the same time, I love soccer just as much, and have been playing the sport since I was seven. Within three years, I had been selected for the New Zealand Under-14 Academy team, and made that squad again in each of the next two seasons. Now, at fifteen, I'm in the Under-20 squad.
“So some time in the future, I'll probably have a decision to make, and it won't be an easy one. I'll
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decide when the time comes, of course, but if I find myself in a situation where I had to make a choice, I'd be inclined to prompt for whichever code takes me furthest”.
A wise head on young shoulders, this lass, and the 2005 NZ Secondary Schoolgirls rep has educated feet, too, as her goalscoring exploits at representative level attest. Three goals for Capital Soccer's Under-14 girls at the 2004 National Tournament were followed by a seven-goal haul for the federation's Under-16 girls a year later.
In between times, she'd struck five goals for the NZ Under-19 Development Squad in the Lion Foundation National Women's League competition, while her return for the Under-20s squad so far this year comprises goals against Australia and Vanuatu.
“Getting the letter confirming my selection in the Under-20 squad was one of the biggest thrills of my football career so far”, beams Renee as she recalls the joy she and her mother, Tania, shared upon opening it.
Another was heading the winner for Miramar Rangers against Marist Palmerston North in the semi-final of last season's Kelly Cup competition. She has already struck twice in this year's campaign, including the winner against Tawa on Mother's Day.
The Wellington East Girls College sixth former is deeply indebted to her uncle, Barry Lewis, for his role in her career so far. “He coached me right from the start, got me into the game, and has been a big influence on me.
“And even though none of them play themselves, my family - parents Nelson and Tania, and my young brother and sister, Caleb and Tenika - have encouraged me to play at every opportunity”, says the rising star of the Wellington women's soccer scene.
Renee Leota has made a great deal of progress in the sporting world since she first started kicking a ball for Island Bay United eight years ago. Trips to Australia, Fiji, Samoa and American Samoa have been enjoyed by this self-described “capital kid” as she has successfully juggled a career centred around basketball and football, and she's hoping Russian stamps will be among the next ones to grace her passport.
No doubt there will come a time when she has to address the toughest sporting decision of her career - which code to fully channel her energies towards.
But if her ambitions - “do my best, and score goals” - are anything to go by, it's a decision this prospective New Zealand Under-20 Women's World Cup Finals squad member may already have made.
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