If there's one thing Alice Mitchell is passionate about it is sport and mentoring younger athletes - leaving no doubt why she was named Port Stephens sportsperson of the year.
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The 16-year-old from Shoal Bay has been a dedicated member of the Nelson Bay Touch Football Association since she was about eight-years-old.
Alice also proudly represented NSW in both touch football and rugby sevens in recent years.
But her list of sports she plays doesn't stop there - Alice is also a valued member of the Nelson Bay Netball Association and played in the opens division last year, her team winning the division 3 state championships.
Alice's mum Nicole Mitchell accepted the award on behalf of Alice at the Australia Day awards and Nicole said it was a shock to both her and Alice.
"She was very surprised and very excited," she said.
"Originally she thought it was an award for a junior sportsperson and didn't realise it was a category open to any age."
When she's not playing sport, Alice can often be found mentoring other young athletes.
"She helps me out with the under 12's Hunter Hornets team and just really enjoys being a role model to these younger kids," Nicole said.
Alice also enjoys helping out the juniors at touch football.
"She'll often invite any juniors to the oval if she's there training and she'll often get five to ten kids to come and she helps them train," Nicole said.
Alice also plays in the premier league women's open for Newcastle and Nicole said Alice enjoys the challenge of the game.
"She loves everything about sport, she loves being a part of a team and loves a challenge," she said.
"She's very dedicated and does a lot of training outside of her training and is very self motivated to go and do whatever she needs to be doing whether that's at the oval or at the gym."
Alice is in Year 11 at Tomaree High School and Nicole said her daughter has an interest in potentially pursing a career as an occupational therapist after school.
Between school, sport and mentoring, Alice's year is shaping up to be a big one and she was recently named in the Hunter open's touch football team and the Hunter open's rugby sevens team.
"She'll be off to Bathurst after the school holidays for rugby sevens and then to Cronulla for touch football," Nicole said.
Alice was also involved with the state cup for Nelson Bay and co-captained the team that made it to the grand final and won the Peter Wilson Touch Football Memorial Cup.
Alice will also be trialling for the NSW teams in both touch football and rugby sevens.
Laura Rumbel
Laura Rumbel is a journalist who has always called Maitland home. She has been with the Maitland Mercury since 2022, and is passionate about all areas of local news.
Laura Rumbel is a journalist who has always called Maitland home. She has been with the Maitland Mercury since 2022, and is passionate about all areas of local news.
