There was a moment not that long ago when Charli Pearse nearly walked away from netball for good.
She was in the grind of Year 12, studying for her ATAR, juggling training with the Gold Coast Titans, and wondering whether the game she loved still had a place in her future.
“I was in their academy but it didn’t feel like I was going anywhere with it,” she said.
“I couldn’t break into the Ruby side and I was coming into the end of school and my exams, and I was wondering if I’d just give the game away and focus on study and my career.”
Fast forward two years and Charli is not only still playing – she’s thriving. She’s now a senior member of the Bull Sharks’ Ruby squad and the 2024 recipient of the Coaches Award – a recognition not just of talent, but of values. It’s the award that speaks to growth, leadership, work ethic and character.
Head of Netball Kim Boland says Pearse earned it in every sense.
“She is a very hard worker and because her teammates see that, she’s a really respected player on court,” she said.
“And off court she’s just such a sweet kid – kind, humble, popular – and that’s why she had such a big impact on our group.”
Pearse’s journey has taken a few turns. She first played for Bond in 2021 as part of the U16s side that won a Queensland State title – a team Boland coached in the year the club came close to folding. With the Bull Sharks uncertain whether they’d field a team in 2022, Pearse joined the Titans. But the fit wasn’t quite right.
She’d always been a shooter but lacked the height to make that position her own at the next level.
Boland had flagged early that a move to wing attack would give her the best shot at long-term success, and it’s a change that’s paid off. Just like her academic life, once she found the right place and the right fit, things clicked.
Pearse is now studying a Bachelor of Actuarial Science at Bond on an Academic Excellence Scholarship. It’s not the sort of degree you fall into.
“I like maths – I always have – but I never really knew what I wanted to do. I kept bouncing between pharmacy and engineering and nothing ever really stuck,” she says.
“When Year 12 came around I just found the only subject I had real motivation for was maths.
“I wanted to do a degree that would set me up for something I’d enjoy and be suited to, and when I started researching different maths-based careers, that’s when I landed on Actuarial Science.”
A career in the banking sector predicting financial risk now beckons.
But for all her academic focus, Pearse says the netball program helped her settle into university life.
“100 per cent, coming into the team was such a good way to meet people and have a space away from study,” she said.
“It’s a really great group of girls and that made the transition so much easier.”
Now, with stability in both her studies and her sport, Pearse is primed for another big season in 2025.
“We really want to go better than we did last year,” she says.
“I think we’ve got the team to do it. I’m excited for what’s ahead.”