Having just turned 21, goal attack Jamie Hume can now add Southern Steel player to her growing CV.
After spending last year with the squad but not getting on the court, she made her debut in the side's first match of the new season against the Northern Stars last Sunday.
She was hoping to get more on-court action tonight as the Steel travels to Auckland to play the Northern Mystics.
''I didn't think it would come as soon as it did,'' Hume said.
''I thought it would be a few more years away. But definitely something I've always wanted to do.
''And same with the Ferns and the stepping stones have come a bit quicker than I thought they would. But I'm pretty stoked to be playing for my region.''
Hume was a key player in last year's Beko League-winning South team.
Following those performances, she was chosen for the New Zealand A, under-21 and Fast5 teams, as well as getting a trial for the Silver Ferns.
That all came before she took the court for the Steel.
With a star duo in front of her, breaking into the line-up was going to be tough, but she still found a way to impress.
''I was still getting heaps out of being in trainings and watching Te Paea [Selby-Rickit] and Jhaniele [Fowler-Reid] is amazing. They work so well together.
She felt the Beko League system was a good stepping stone and had made it a much easier transition to top-level netball.
Hume grew up in Clyde, attending Clyde Primary and Dunstan High School.
Coming from a small town posed its challenges in breaking into the system, with a lot of travel.
She moved to Dunedin to study to be a primary school teacher at the University of Otago. Now, two and a-half years through her degree, she was taking the year off study, but planned to pick it back up part-time in the future.
That decision had come as a result of her Steel commitments and the prospect of going to the World Youth Cup with the New Zealand under-21 team.
That tournament would be held in July in Botswana.
With the first ANZ Premiership game out the way, she was expecting a tough match from the Mystics.
The Northern team has the Silver Ferns starting shooting combination of Maria Tutaia and Bailey Mes in its circle, which poses a threat. Anna Harrison and Storm Purvis give it a Silver Ferns pairing in defence, as well.
Hume said both pairings would need to be looked after, but the Steel remained focused on its own game and what it could control.
Meanwhile South had its second loss in as many games in the Beko League on Saturday. It was beaten 52-46 by the Northern Marvels in Auckland.
After leading 13-7 at the end of the first quarter, it faltered and lost each of the other three quarters.
