WHAT Gaye Batt wants her 15 and under Hampden girls to possess most at Sunday's LOUD Championships is a trait which is hard to learn through a drill at training.
The coach hopes her team has mental toughness.
"Every team we play down there is going to be a strong side,'' she said.
"I think we've got the ability, it's just going to be whether we're able to play at that level for the whole day.
"Every time we're on the court, we need to be concentrating the whole time.''
The 15 and unders have a good mix of top and bottom aged players, including girls who played in last year's victorious 13 and under team.
"They're going to prepared for a lot of tough games,'' said Batt, who believed versatility was her team's strength.
"I'm very happy with the side we've got and we'll be going down there and giving it our best shot.''
JACKIE Smedts and assistant coach Dot Jenkins will be trying to steer the 13 and under group to victory at the championships again.
The North Warrnambool Eagles duo guided the side to an undefeated run at the qualifying tournament in Ballarat just over a month ago.
Like Batt, Smedts also believed her side's biggest asset was its versatility.
Albury Netball Association also qualified for the championships and will be seeking redemption after going down to Hampden 11-8 at last year's titles.
Hampden will also be represented by an open side and three umpires: Qalo Sukabula, Tanya Suggett and Josie Logan.
The championships are at the State Netball and Hockey Centre. The teams are heading down tomorrow afternoon so they are fully prepared for Sunday's matches, which start at 9am.
EXPECT the unexpected is a saying which could have applied to the first half of the Hampden league season as many team lists were not set in cement.
Mainly due to depth and unavailability, the first half of 2009 has seen many players - including prominent ones such as Terang Mortlake's Siobhan Sefton and Koroit's Sarah Hearn - take to the court in more than one grade.
After round 10 players are not able to freely switch between grades. Anyone who plays more than eight quarters in a higher grade is not allowed to go back and play in a lower grade or else they face disqualification.
The same rule does not adhere to juniors. Talented teenagers such as North Warrnambool Eagles' Laura Blackburn are able to play both in the 17 and under and senior competitions each week.
When it comes to finals though, they can only play in one grade on one weekend - seemingly unfair seeing as they've put in the hard work for both teams during the season and have the ability to match it with league's best.
A MILESTONE adds that little bit of pressure on teams to win. Russells Creek's B grade side brushed off that extra pressure on Saturday and gave Sandra Primmer another reason to celebrate.
Primmer racked up her 250th match against Kolora-Noorat, which the Kangaroos defeated 23-15, and featured in Creek's best.
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