The Good Oil Tactix’ Jess Prosser admits Mother’s Day may fall a little short in the bed-in-breakfast and flowers department, but hopes to deliver the ultimate present to her mum in the form of an ANZ Premiership win.
Prosser and her Tactix team-mates host the Magic at Christchurch Arena on Sunday in what will be their first appearance in front of their red-and-black fans.
The added bonus of being Mother’s Day means the goal attack hopes to help deliver a somewhat late gift wrapped in Premiership points.
“It’ll be a bit of a quiet Mother’s Day for my Mum because it’ll be game day for me and that will be my focus,” Prosser said.
“But we can hopefully celebrate after the game.”
Her parents, Melissa and Mark, will be in the stands along with extended family and Prosser said being backed by a vocal home crowd always gave the Tactix a lift when they stepped out on court.
“There really is something special about playing at home. It’s not just about sleeping in your own beds but hearing that noise from the stands really is an extra player out there for you. It’s a huge support.”
The 24-year-old also credits her parents for their “massive support” in a journey which started on the North Canterbury club courts and has led to an ANZ Premiership contract with the Tactix.
“They’ve been there from those very first steps into the game,” she said.
Prosser’s mum has travelled to the Tactix early games this season, heading to the Deep South for the opening round and up to Auckland when they played the Stars – ready to offer a supportive shoulder when it’s needed.
“I think mum’s learned over the years and she’s now more of a quiet watcher and waits to say anything until I approach her after the game – that’s when we’ll have a bit of a debrief,” Prosser said.
“But I know that support is up in the stands for me and it really makes a difference.”
Prosser grew up in Ohoka watching her netball idols – Julie Seymour, Maree Bowden and Irene van Dyk – on television and dipped her toe in the netball pool as an eight-year-old.
“I think our uniform was sweat pants back then so it wasn’t even a traditional netball skirt. But I really loved the game right from the start.
“My parents were really into us trying out as many sports as we wanted when we were young, so there was never any pressure to play netball, it just sort of happened.”
She impressed at schoolgirl netball – a product of St Margaret’s College who was named a non-travelling reserve for the New Zealand Secondary Schools team in 2014 – and was given her first real insight into the elite game when given a spot in the Tactix’ accelerant squad.
Two years with Mainland in the former Beko Netball League and Prosser, who in 2019 was one of the league’s most accurate shooters, was offered a place in the Tactix to be coached by one of her netball idols.
“It’s been amazing to have someone like Julie (Tactix assistant coach) helping me take that next step.”
