Marcia Ella-Duncan was the first of just two indigenous women to represent Australia in netball and she says it's time to tap into the "incredible pools of talent" in Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander communities.
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Ella-Duncan debuted for Australia in 1986 and Sharon Finnan-White became the second indigenous woman to play for the Diamonds four years later, and their journeys to the top were anything but smooth.
But now they are hoping all that will change following the first indigenous netball high performance camp, held in Canberra during NAIDOC Week.
Ella-Duncan and Finnan-White were in Canberra alongside Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander and shooter Caitlin Thwaites late in the week to nurture the next generation of indigenous stars at the AIS.
They mentored 21 young Indigenous players and Ella-Duncan hopes the camp helps to create a pathway that lands a host of the talented youngsters in the Super Netball competition.
"Some of our challenges are of course in our communities, not necessarily in the sport," Ella-Duncan said.
"Some of our challenges are challenges that every aspiring athlete will encounter, but some of course are unique to being an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander person in this country.
"There are lots of different layers of disadvantage, but there are also incredible, untapped pools of talent. Aboriginals I think bring with them a really different dynamic on the sporting field.
"We've seen plenty of that in other sporting environments, and I just think it's wonderful that we can hopefully make the pathway for these guys a bit clearer and a bit more achievable."
Ella-Duncan is the sister of three Australian rugby legends in Mark, Glen and Gary Ella - making them a family of pioneers for Indigenous Australians in the sporting arena.
Among the group of promising young players in Canberra for camp is Charisma Wanganeen - a relative of AFL legend and 1993 Brownlow Medallist Gavin Wanganeen.
A pathway opening up for the likes of Wanganeen in netball could help young female players to resist the urge to switch to sports like Australian rules in the wake of the AFL Women's competition's booming start.
But Ella-Duncan had one little piece of advice for all the girls on hand as they try to go one step closer to elite netball: have fun.
"Work hard, don't lose sight of your goals, but learn how to have fun, learn how to relax," Ella-Duncan said.
"I know in my day when it was a completely amateur sport and I loved it. I loved it because I had fun.
"I think being able to extract a bit of fun in a high pressure, high performance, highly competitive environment, is a bit of a skill. I think it's really important for resilience and longevity in the game.
"While we're working really hard to make it to the top, take the opportunity to learn to enjoy the game and enjoy your teammates and enjoy the opportunity, because at the end of the day, if it's not fun, just don't do it."
