Tennis ace Jane Haeusler will be moving from Barellan to Brisbane this year in pursuit of her dream to one day become a professional tennis player.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
The 15-year-old started playing nearly five years ago, after she convinced her father to let her practise in one of the grain sheds on the family farm.
"When I got a bit more serious about tennis and started playing tournaments, Dad let me use one of the grain sheds on the farm and built a wall with slabs of concrete for me to hit against," Jane said.
Jane is currently ranked 223 in Australia, with the decision to move 1800 kilometres from her hometown being made in order to provide the youngster with more training and playing opportunities.
The Year 10 student will board at Saint Margaret's Anglican Girls School in Brisbane, an elite establishment in the city's north, with tennis courts right on her doorstep and a state-of-the-art sports complex opening later in the year.
"The size of the school and campus will be one of the biggest adjustments," Jane explained.
"My old school had about 100 students whereas Saint Margaret's has over 1000. Not getting lost and forgetting everyone's name will be a challenge."
READ MORE
Jane acknowledges it will be a big change but she says she is excited at the prospect.
"I've never lived in a city before," Jane said.
"It's a big move and a big change which might be difficult to adjust for the first few weeks, but I'm definitely more excited than nervous right now.
"It will also be a big change getting used to boarding, instead of going home to the farm everyday I will be going home to a boarding house filled with 186 other girls."
Saint Margaret's will welcome 186 new and veteran borders for the start of school, with students hailing from all over Queensland, New South Wales, the Northern Territory and overseas destinations.
Now, 15-year-old Jane will play in regular tournaments and continue training hard, as she chases her lifetime dream of one day playing for Australia.
***
While you're with us, did you know that you can now receive updates straight to your inbox every Monday at 6am from The Area News? To make sure you're up to date with all the Griffith and MIA news you can sign up here.