By Peter Howe
Don Deeble Spots star nominee Kiara Boyd isn’t one to sit still and do nothing.
Boyd is a state level dual athlete who has had to shed her burgeoning athletics and swimming careers to concentrate on netball and football.
“I love team sports because you’re part of something bigger, people rely on you, and you can rely on others,” she said. “Not to mention I love the social aspect.
“I started playing netball in a NetSetGo program as a seven-year-old and began playing competitively with Victoria University as an eight-year-old.
“In my early netball journey I played in many positions except goal attack because I could never get the ball through that hoop.
“I started playing under-9 football with Burnside Heights and then moved to Aberfeldie in the Essendon District Football League.”
Boyd quickly found her feet on the football field, winning the club best and fairest in her first full season and the only girl to finish in the top 10 in the league.
Boyd has always been someone who wanted to test her skills against the best and never stopped competing and improving on the netball court.
“I often got selected in representative and state teams as a bottom age player, but there were also times where I was only selected as a training partner,” she said of netball.
“You learn different things from being in both positions.”
Boyd said some of her memorable achievements include making the under-15 School Sport Victoria netball team in 2023, which won gold.
She also made the under-17 state netball team this year and has been part of the Western Warriors 23 and under Victorian Netball League squad the past two years.
Boyd lists her strengths as her athleticism and her vertical leap, which she then takes into her football with the Western Jets under-18 team in the Coates Talent League.
She readily acknowledges she loves footy because she loves to tackle.
Her representative football journey has seen her in train-on squads as a bottom age player in the under-16 futures program before making an impact in an under-16 Western Jets game against the Northern Territory where she finished with three goals to establish her credentials in football.
Boyd’s selection in the under-16 Vic Metro side at the nationals in 2024 also underlined her quality as a football player.
“I play in a range of positions including centre half forward, mid field and centre half back,” she said.
“At 173 centimetres, I’m not the tallest player but again my vertical leap and athleticism enable me to get the job done.”
A typical training and playing week leaves Boyd with a significant rehabilitation program.
As a student at Maribyrnong Sports Academy, she can complete her strength and conditioning program, her running technique session, and flexibility sessions in her school program.
She also has access to a dietician and a sports psychologist.
It’s not surprising that Boyd’s sporting heroes are successful dual sport athletes. Monique Conti, who plays AFLW and WNBL, and former Australian Diamond and current Fremantle player Ashleigh Brazill, top the list along with Melbourne Vixens captain Kate Moloney.
“I am currently in a leadership role with the Western Jets as captain of their forward line,” she said.
“I love being there for the other players, they are my football family and they have my full support.”
Boyd hopes to one day be also in a leadership role for netball.
So what does the future hold?
“My sporting goals are simple, I want to do my best and try and get as far as I can on both sports, and I don’t want to let people down,” she said.
The Don Deeble Sports Star Award is sponsored by the Yarraville Club Cricket Club, Strathmore Community Bank, the Deer Park Club, Ascot Vale Sports and Trophies and Star Weekly Newspapers.
If you would like to nominate a monthly winner or attend a dinner, contact swrsportsclub@gmail.com or sms 0408 556 631.
