Northern Mystics star owes 50th milestone achievement to the sacrifices made by her mother.
For many sportspeople, the feeling of reaching a milestone in their career is often indescribable.
But for Mystics player Filda Vui, reaching her 50th match for the club is described in her own words as a ‘colourful roller coaster’.
“It’s crazy for me when I think about this journey,” she says.
“In the netball world,there’s very limited games in the year. So it was not easy but I can say it has been a colourful roller coaster.”
And all the successes in life and what she has achieved to date, Vui owes it all to her mother.
“She’s the foundation and the rock of our family,” she says.
“I grew up with my mom being a single-parent looking after me and my siblings. Everything we have in life now is because of her and her sacrifices in life.
“She always shows up to my games and, for me, that shows a lot of how much she cares and loves not just me but also my siblings.”
Moving from Samoa in 2004, she originally began her journey with the Mystics in the league below the ANZ Premiership, juggling between her sports training and full time employment.
With a schedule of tough training sessions before and after work, her effort was rewarded when she was named in the Mystics four years later.
“During lockdown I did not have any team mates to train with, so really grateful for my family stepping in on that part,” she says.
“Whether it was feeding the ball to me during lockdown trainings at home or just being there, my family really have been supportive for my career.
“Usually you don’t see many brown girls in netball at this level, so I’m proud to be Samoan and playing at this level. We may look a bit different, a bit bigger and solid but knowing your values and worth, you are capable of doing great things.”
With 50 games secured there are still a few goals left that she hopes to achieve sometime soon.
That includes playing some consistent netball for the Mystics this year to hopefully make Silver Ferns or NZ development teams later this year.
But for now, she is hoping to be of help to young netballers across the country who are going through their own journeys.
“Don’t be shy to learn, and always have a great support system in place,” she says.
“Lean into your family when needed and enjoy the sport as well without taking it too seriously.”
