Protea netball goal shooter Lenize Potgieter has played internationally for over 8 years, earning 39 caps for South Africa and playing in the professional netball leagues around the world. At 1.88cm tall, she is both a strong physical and motivation presence on the court, which has earned her Most Valuable Player at many international tournaments.
Playing for the Adelaide Thunderbirds, she woke up on her birthday last year thinking "this was not the plan for my life...how did I get here". So began a mental health journey that made her re-examine what she thought to be important in life, where she was heading in the future and ultimately how she thought of herself and her identity as 'Lenize the netball player'.
Thank you Lenize for sharing your story with such honesty and vulnerability as you hope to help others know that it is okay not to be okay sometimes, and that they are so much more than an athlete.