General News
21 April, 2022
Baker lends name to division one medal
TRACY BAKER received perhaps the highest honour of her netball career when the Hampden Football Netball League (HNFL) named the division one netball Best and Fairest medal in her honour.
TRACY BAKER received perhaps the highest honour of her netball career when the Hampden Football Netball League (HNFL) named the division one netball Best and Fairest medal in her honour.
Alongside Dot Jenkins, whose name now graces the open netball Best and Fairest medal, Baker’s achievements and contributions to the HNFL community were celebrated by the league when they announced the naming of the medals Wednesday night.
Baker’s name is synonymous with netball in Camperdown, having played 392 of her 448 HFNL A grade/open games with the Magpies, the HFNL record for any netballer.
Her list of achievements over her 33-year career as player and coach include two HFNL A grade Best and Fairests (1992, 2012), an A reserve Best and Fairest (2007), seven club A grade Best and Fairestsand life memberships with both the Magpies and the league.
Baker said she was both surprised and elated to receive the honour.
“It’s a real honour, but it was a bit of a surreal feeling and I didn’t expect it at all,” she said.
“I said to my husband that it makes me feel a little bit old, people are usually dead when this sort of thing happens.
“But no, it’s a real honour from the league, netball’s been a big part of my life so it’s a really good feeling and I’m very thankful to the league for making it happen.”
In considering her netball career, two things stood out to Baker as high points; the experience of playing with her daughters Chelsea and Krystal and winning the 2012 state netball league final.
“I had highlights on and off the court, but the biggest highlight was probably playing with my girls, it was a very special thing for me to do as part of my netball journey,” she said.
“And then winning the state league final down in Melbourne with a group of Camperdown girls who’d played together as a core group for three or four years.”
Baker said the social side of the game had been one of the most important elements of netball, something that was irreplaceable.
“I love the social side, you make so many friendships and meet so many people over the journey,” she said.
“COVID was probably the big factor for me in my decision to retire last year, there were games we played where there were no crowds, no family there, you just had to leave straight after.
“It gave me a different perspective on how I feel about the game and how important the social side of it was.”
In the end, Baker said it was her family and the meaningful connections she’d made along the way that defined netball for her.
“I just really want to thank everyone that was involved along the way, and especially my family,” she said.
“At the end of last season I couldn’t play the last game, and my sister and a couple of teammates put together a video that had lots of photos from over the years.
“It also had people I’d played with and against, coaches, league people, radio people, who had all sent in videos and messages.
“That was really special, it summed up my whole career. So thanks to everybody involved in that as well.”
