THRISTINA Harwood is your typical girl next — door — affable, endearing and vivacious.

But don’t be fooled, for beneath that veil of chirpiness is an ambitious and driven young woman.

And with her soaring desire to succeed, one gets the feeling she won’t be the girl next — door for long. For the rising netball star just can’t stand still — moving upward, all the time chasing those big dreams of hers.

Slowly, the pieces of the puzzle for the 19-year-old Sunshine Girl have begun to fall into place. Already, the rewards for her hard work and dedication have started to flow in. It is just the beginning for this unbridled champion in the making.

Though she had shown the signs of a promising netballer as a precocious early teen at St Andrew High School for Girls, it is now that Harwood is positioned on the threshold of becoming the accomplished player.

When she journeyed to the far-flung nation of New Zealand with her fellow Sunshine Girls for the Fast5 World Netball Series recently, naturally she had goals. And the main one was to score as many goals as she could as a goal-attack to help her team. And score she did. Too numerous for even her to remember.

But when it was all over in New Zealand, Jamaica had won the bronze medal by beating South Africa in the third-place play-off match. And of all the fine players on show at the Vector Arena over the three days of competition, Harwood came out number one.

She was the tournament’s Most Valuable Player.

Harwood knew she had played well throughout, but still the MVP award was not exactly something she expected to fall on her. But it did.

“I was very surprised when I heard that I am the MVP of the series… I mean there were so many outstanding players, particularly New Zealand’s Maria Tutaia, who is considered to be one of the most skilled long-range shooters in the world,” she said.

“It’s an awesome feeling knowing that my hard work paid off, ” she grinned as she addressed the Jamaica Observer’s Sports Club last Wednesday.

For those who know her, Thristina Harwood is a lippy and bubbly individual. Cocky even. But the occasion and atmosphere of the Vector Arena, as she confessed, gave her butterflies in the team’s first game.

Tough as nails, Harwood quickly shook off the early jitters and her train was rolling.

“It was my first major international competition… but my confidence always kicks in once the adrenaline rushes with that first shot,” she shared with the Sunday Observer.

Before that, Harwood had played for Jamaica’s Under-16 and Under-21 teams, excelling at both levels. But moving up the senior ranks was a different ball game she has come to find.

As her game evolves, so has her pursuit of academia — balancing both with the dexterity of the master juggler.

“I sat and passed eight CXC subjects and went on to sixth form and completed year one of the CAPE units and eventually obtained an academic/netball scholarship to the University of the West Indies, where I am currently pursuing a BSc in Management Studies,” Harwood explained.

On the netball front, she is working every day to improve her shooting which, at times, includes solitary training sessions at the UWI Mona Bowl where she would execute 500 shots or more until her sturdy arms rebel from pain.

“I am totally focused on improving my goal-shooting average from 80 per cent to at least 98 per cent.”

A slave to pushing herself to the limit, Harwood is also spending quality time in the gym tuning up her 4ft-11inch frame. “I want to develop a well-sculpted body,” she said.

What’s a typical day for the Kintyre resident?

This regime includes days of intense training with a typical day starting with a one-hour shooting routine, followed by two hours of regular training. This is supported by time spent in the gym where she focuses primarily on her upper-body strength conditioning.

Nutrition, too, plays a vital part in the making of the ultimate athlete.

“To stay on course, I avoid fried foods, rice and snacking. Instead, I consume vegetables, fruits and gallons of water, natural juices, and of course, I always take my supplements.

“My mother also acts as a monitor and this discourages the temptation to cheat,” Harwood noted.

Apart from life on the big netball stages of the world and on campus, there is more going on for the spirited young lady. She also plays in the Intercollegiate Netball Championships for UWI Pelicans, likes the movies and the beach, but goes to a party “once in a blue moon”.

Harwood, who attended Mona Primary, said the support of her parents Norma Chamberlain and Roland Harwood, and siblings, was invaluable to where she is and will remain vital to where she ultimately wants to go.