Since earning selection in Queensland’s 17 and Under State Team, Ruby Croxford’s routine has looked very different to most teenagers.
While her teammates in south-east Queensland can roll into midweek sessions and keep their weekends largely intact, Croxford’s State Team commitments have required repeated trips between Cairns and Brisbane - often flying down on Friday night and returning on Saturday - then doing it again when the next camp comes around.
“It’s tough,” she said. “It’s a lot of commitment, but it’s good to come down here every weekend.”
The sacrifice is significant on its own, but Croxford is also 16 and completing Year 12 at Trinity Bay State High School.
School deadlines don’t pause for high-performance sport and for a regional athlete the travel can quickly become the difference between staying on top of workload and falling behind. Croxford knows that better than most.
“Especially when you’re Year 12 - school work, school load, workload, everything. It’s a lot,” she said. “And especially since I don’t come to Tuesday trainings or Thursdays, I can only make weekends. It’s very different from other people down here in Brisbane.”
To make do, Croxford adapts. If travel is part of the deal, then so is finding ways to keep moving forward academically while chasing her sporting goals. Sometimes that means planning schoolwork earlier in the week. Sometimes it means turning a quiet moment between sessions into an hour of study.
“The load is pretty tough - getting schoolwork done before I come down here, assignments and exams,” Croxford said. “I’ve sometimes brought my laptop down to try and do a bit of work when I can. But I’ve just got to manage.”
It’s that willingness to manage the hard stuff - not just the highlights - that’s underpinning her rise. Croxford was born and raised in Cairns, and she’s proud of the place that shaped her.
Now, she’s preparing for a massive year: the National Netball Championships in April, a return to the HART Premier Netball League Ruby North competition with Far North Flames and the ongoing reality of Year 12 - all happening at once.
For Croxford, none of it is negotiable. It’s all part of the same pursuit.
“The opportunity is incredible,” she said. “I’ve loved every bit of it.”
As a midcourter, Croxford’s primary position speaks to what she values: speed of thought, repeat efforts, connection and the ability to keep showing up no matter how relentless the contest becomes. And she’s already had a taste of what higher-level environments demand, and what they give back, through her experiences in Ruby North with the Flames last year.
“It benefited me so much,” she said.
“I improved over a year - just the trainings, playing with people older than me, more experienced. It totally opened my view of netball. It definitely prepared me a lot for State Titles.”
This year, she’s expecting another step up.
“Last year it was a totally new competition, but it was very good, and this year it’ll definitely be tougher,” Croxford said. “Our team has a lot of new people. It’s very different from last year. So hopefully we can give it a good crack again.”
Those words - “give it a good crack” - come up more than once with Croxford. They’re not just a cliché; they’re her approach. She doesn’t talk about certainty. She talks about effort, resilience and backing herself to handle what comes next.
“Honestly, not really,” she said when asked about if she’s worked out plans beyond Year 12. “I guess I’ll just have a crack at school and have a crack at netball, see where it takes me.”
What makes the juggle sustainable is the support around her, and that’s where the Queensland Firebirds Futures Academy (QFFA) has been pivotal. For a regional athlete trying to meet State Team standards while based hundreds of kilometres away, access to consistent high-performance coaching, strength and conditioning and a connected pathway can be the difference between surviving the experience and thriving in it.
“It has helped a lot,” Croxford said of the QFFA regional program in Cairns. “Especially just the people up in Cairns - supportive coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, gym work, court work. It’s all beneficial to help me be better.”
Even beyond netball, Croxford’s athletic background has shaped the way she handles physicality and fitness at the next level. She plays AFL as well, and she believes it has sharpened her readiness for the contest and contact that comes with higher performance environments.
“I do love it, it’s a break from netball, totally different sport,” she said. “The fitness in AFL is totally different. The physical side of it too has prepared me a lot for the physicality down here as well.”
For Croxford, the story isn’t simply about the kilometres between Cairns and Brisbane. It’s about what those kilometres represent: the sacrifices regional athletes quietly make, the discipline required to chase both school and sport and the value of a pathway that recognises that talent exists everywhere.
Between flights and finals, assignments and academy sessions, Croxford is building a season defined by commitment. And if the travel is tough, she’s clear on why she keeps doing it.
There have been sacrifices, she said, “but it’ll be worth it.”
The 2026 National Netball Championships are being held from April 9-15 at Parkville’s State Netball Centre in Victoria where Queensland’s next generation of netball talent will face off against counterparts from every state and territory. Click here for more information on the event while the tournament will be broadcast live by Kommunity TV.
