At the age of only 17, Minerva Athlete Leilani Hills has reached an elite level in not one, but two sports – athletics and rugby sevens.
Beginning Little Athletics at the age of nine, Leilani spent every Saturday trying all the events athletics had to offer and was eventually approached by two coaches who saw her potential. While training for sprints and jumps, Leilani was encouraged to try hurdles.
“I was really apprehensive at first,” Leilani says. “I had one training session, and I stacked it. It took me about six months to get the hang of it, and at the end of the year, I went to my first nationals for school and won the 80 metre hurdles.”
Leilani continued competing in hurdles, going on to win several national medals.
Then in year 11, Leilani was first introduced to rugby sevens.
“I had never even really heard of rugby 7s. I had played touch, so I was used to throwing a ball, but I had never played rugby,” Leilani admitted.
Although hesitant at first, Leilani was eventually convinced to join her school's rugby sevens team. It was at a Queensland all-schools rugby competition that Leilani was approached by the coach of the Queensland Academy of Sport’s rugby 7s team. She was invited to join their rugby program and has been training with the Queensland Academy of Sport for the past year.
When asked about what motivates Leilani to train and compete she said, “I really don’t know, I guess the chance that I could win an Olympic gold medal or compete at the Commonwealth Games, but honestly, I just love playing sport.”
The love and passion Leilani has for sport is apparent in her achievements, winning Australian champion for short hurdles at the all-schools competition four years in a row and representing Australia in rugby sevens in New Zealand at the World Schools Sevens.
Competing at elite level in two sports however, Leilani is unsure which to pursue longer term, and she thanks her Minerva Mentor Leanne Hughes for supporting her in making this decision.
“A couple of months ago, I called her [Leanne] and said, ‘I'm having a crisis. I don't know if I want to stick with rugby. I don't know how to decide. Is there any advice you can give me?’”
Being a former elite netballer herself, Leanne’s advice has been invaluable for Leilani.
“Leanne just told me to take a break from rugby for a few weeks, and if I miss playing then go back and I'll enjoy it so much more. And if I don't miss it, then obviously, there's something that needs to change.
“I took Leanne’s advice and took a little break but ended up missing rugby like crazy. So, I just went back, and I've been more motivated to train. Leanne has helped me heaps through deciding if it was the sport for me.”
In speaking about the future, Leilani is looking forward to increased interest in women’s rugby, highlighting how far the sport has come in the last few years.
“I've definitely noticed the change in the calibre of the sport. If you were to look at the 2016 Rio Olympic team for the women's rugby 7s, compared to the team they currently have that won three times last year, the calibre of rugby is so much higher. And that's just a testament to the coaching staff that have developed the training and knowledge of the game to help these girls,” Leilani says.
“Australian women’s rugby has improved so much, and everyone can see that. Little kids who had no idea that women played rugby are seeing these girls on the world stage, Australia's Golden Girls, and thinking, I want to do that – I want to make that my dream.”
Minerva Network and the Queensland Academy of Sport are partnering to support and empower women in elite sport, providing female athletes with access to mentoring, networking and development opportunities to enable them to achieve their full potential on and off the field.
