Not even Chelsea Pitman could've predicted the year she's had.
The 34-year-old netballer has completed an impressive comeback to the elite level, earning a call-up to return to the England Roses squad and signing her first full-time playing contract since she was controversially dropped by the Adelaide Thunderbirds in 2020.
Next week, Pitman will don the red dress for a three-match series against Uganda, held in the UK, and in 2023 she'll play for the London Pulse in the Superleague.
The news caps off a wonderful season for the experienced mid-courter, who has managed to revitalise her career off the back of a $5,000 training partner contract with the West Coast Fever.
The six-month interstate commitment was certainly risky in the sense it meant Pitman had to move away from family after a tough couple of years, all while sacrificing her stable income as a South Australian police officer, with no guarantee that she would actually get any game time.
Super Netball training partners are generally lucky to make it on court once in a regular season, but in a year impacted by illness and injury, Pitman wound up representing two different clubs.
As part of the COVID replacement protocols introduced to help teams reach the minimum number of athletes required for a match to go ahead, Pitman debuted for the Giants in Round 2 under desperate circumstances, before appearing five times as an injury replacement player for the Fever.
In total, Pitman made it on court for 184 minutes across the season and was credited for playing a key role in the Fever's maiden Super Netball premiership tilt.
From there, she was off to Birmingham to help England prepare for the Commonwealth Games in an unofficial capacity, training with the squad and acting as a long back-up should they encounter any pre-tournament injuries.
Now her new Pulse contract and Roses selection have come to light, Pitman told the ABC she's glad she persisted with the sport and didn't throw in the towel — even if it meant being in limbo for 2021, unsure if she would ever play elite netball again.
"I guess, first and foremost, it goes back to when I said yes to the West Coast Fever for the training partner position," Pitman said.
"That was me putting the feelers out there and letting people know 'I'm not done with my netball'."
"I've since had quite a few opportunities to play and showcase that I've still got it, and that's where conversations started happening with clubs over in the UK."
It wasn't an easy decision to take the leap to join the Fever, and Pitman has since revealed she didn't say yes to head coach Dan Ryan straight away.
"I mulled it over for a while, but in the end it came down to the passion I still had for the game and I knew it would have been a massive regret if I didn't take the opportunity," she said.
"I think a big thing for me is that I like to be challenged and the thought of taking on that contract – excuse my French – scared the absolute shit out of me."
"The fear of it thinking, what about the money, what about this or that, even just moving over to Perth … All of that made me realise it was the exact reason I should go, and it ended up being one of the best things I ever did."
Why the London Pulse?
Pitman will be linking up with fellow Australian Sacha McDonald (shooter) at the Pulse, as well as her former Aussie Diamonds coach Lisa Alexander (performance director).
Pitman says part of the reason she went with the Pulse is that they'd already expressed their interest in signing her after she'd been let go by the Thunderbirds.
Back then, Pitman was still coming to terms with a miscarriage and ectopic pregnancy she'd suffered in early 2020 before the Super Netball season start, as well as the emotional toll the year had taken on her whilst living inside the competition's Queensland COVID hub.
"Clubs had reached out then, but I think, where I was mentally with everything that had happened, I wasn't in a position to move overseas and not have my support system around me."
"It's amazing that they still have an interest in me after I said no … My journey has certainly been different, but now I get the opportunity to pull on the Pulse dress after starting the conversation with them a few years ago."
Living in London, the team's talented youth pool and the promising season they had this year that saw them place third, were other factors behind Pitman's move.
But what really helped seal the deal was the fact England's most capped player and Pitman's great friend Jade Clarke was also heading to the club.
"When people ask me to talk about what netball's given you, it's definitely given me lifelong friendships and that's what Jade is to me," she said.
"To be able to have that support system away from family is a great drawcard, and we're both moving to a cool city, so we'll get to hang out and be mates."
The hidden message in Pitman's story
Pitman has already won a Commonwealth Games gold medal with the Roses in 2018 and played at two Netball World Cups – representing Australia in 2011 and England in 2019.
However, the form she's been in this year and the way she's been able to turn her career around has got her holding onto hope that she might make it to Cape Town to represent England one more time at the 2023 global tournament.
She also thinks there's a strong message that can be taken from her story — one that encourages people to keep believing in themselves, even when others may have given up.
"Setbacks are a test of your mental resilience and what you're willing to settle for," she said.
"[After I was dropped], I wasn't resigned to the fact that it was going to be the end of my career, I didn't want it to be the end … Then again, if the training partner opportunity didn't happen for me this year, I probably would have just floated away and never played netball again.
"So it's about putting it out the universe – good karma, and all that jazz – and taking risks, even when you're scared about the what ifs, because sometimes we play it safe, but that might not necessarily take you where you want to go."
