Despite the large crowd and loud cheers at Lavington Sports Ground, Dekota Baron could only hear one person celebrating her goal from the sidelines. Her Nan.
Dekota, 15, fell in love with football when her family introduced her to AFL and would take her to watch Brisbane Lions matches.
When it was time for her to compete against the best in Australia, she felt at ease knowing her family was watching and supporting her. She was on top of the world.
The 15-year-old had gone through a long and arduous process before being selected to represent Queensland in the National Under-15 AFL championships (National Carnival) in July.
The Queensland Under-15 girls faced a tough challenge early from Victoria, which was the team to beat. Despite the nervy start, Queensland went on to win 60-27 where Dekota kicked 4 goals in a best-on-ground performance.
“We thought we were going to lose against them because we didn’t know what they were like. We were all pretty nervous on the field,” she said.
“Kicking against the team to beat, it was pretty cool to know that we were definitely up there. It gave us hope that we would be able to take on the tournament and win.”
Queensland was crowned champions for the first time and Dekota was named in the Under-15 girls All Australian Team.
“I was a bit intimidated being up there with the best players from the competition. But it definitely felt really good to know everything paid off,” said the centre-half forward.
Her mother and grandmother who had travelled to Albury were eager to share her success with family back home.
“I think my grandfather had a few tears in his eyes. I guess it touched my heart to know that he’s supporting me every step of the way even though he’s not physically there,” she said.
“I wouldn’t back myself a lot but having heaps of support around me, they push me to get better and I eventually achieved more confidence and went out to play pretty good,” Dekota said.
Zac McLean, director of AFL Excellence at Park Ridge State High School, has seen Dekota grow from a shy and reserved grade 7 student, to a player who can dominate games.
“At the start she was still a very good player and had all the talent in the world but you could see sometimes she lacked a bit of confidence in herself,” Mr McLean said.
“I think if she can develop those leadership skills that she’s working on and that confidence in herself, it’s just going to make everyone around her a better person and a better player.
“She’s a very talented player and she’s got a massive future ahead of her so I am keen to keep supporting her and do whatever I can to help her progress through it and make the AFLW.”
The AFL Program has helped students develop skills on and off the field. Currently open for enrolment, the program has seen how it benefits their students.
“We all share the same goal, to get better in AFL,” Dekota said.
“As a kid, I used to play with the boys because there were never any girls’ teams around. I didn’t know if there was going to be a women’s team.
“Hopefully when I am older, I can be a role model to younger girls and help them pursue their dreams for football,” she said.
