KIRSTY O'Rourke went looking to put the spark back into her netball.
She wanted to learn again, to focus on improving her own game and just have fun playing.
So O'Rourke rejoined Ballarat Pride's state league campaign and found what she was looking for.
Instead of the added pressures of coaching or captaining teams, O'Rourke could just be an elite player.
"I had been doing a lot of coaching. I'm captain at Dela, I coach my school teams and I'm playing coach at Redan," O'Rourke said.
"With Pride I love turning up to training and just doing what I'm told.
"Competition for places on court has really pushed me and made me work hard.
"Really, just learning from the coaching staff and playing alongside players I usually play against has been a great change."
O'Rourke, 25, had her first taste of state league netball in division two with Pride.
When her university days were over, O'Rourke took a break to focus on her budding teaching career.
A stellar season in Ballarat Netball Association's marquee competition, The Athlete's Foot Cup, prompted O'Rourke to think about Pride once more.
But the road back was not easy.
O'Rourke's trademark fitness was her biggest asset, quickly earning the respect of her new team-mates with a blistering pre-season.
She just had to mould it to fit Pride and form her own spot in an already strong centre-court.
O'Rourke's chance finally came in a round-six clash against Ariels when she was called into wing defence.
"Any court time I can get is so invaluable. There are so many combinations we can throw on that you really have to seize every moment," O'Rourke said.
"There is a greater expectation on fitness than when I last played, especially with so many players vying for so few positions."
O'Rourke's high fitness had her pegged as a Pride centre through the state league preseason but it is on the wing in defence that she relishes most - she simply loves it.
Pride's defence is one of the strongest in the competition and O'Rourke has enjoyed adapting her developing techniques to her other playing and coaching duties.
Her students at Ballarat & Clarendon College's senior campus have also been following O'Rourke's progress, with a large contingent making a special trip to watch her in Pride's sole home game last month.
O'Rourke, the college's netball director, has been thrilled with the general growing interest in the sport among her students.
The college is preparing to field its first boys' team in upcoming state championships.
Juggling school commitments and netball has been a challenge for O'Rourke - especially the trips to Melbourne for state league and early starts Thursday mornings.
She said it was all made easier with great support from staff and "very caring" students.
One of the most instrumental people in O'Rourke's state league comeback has been colleague Shaune Moloney.
The North Ballarat Roosters football captain shares a Year 12 physical education class with O'Rourke and the pair often make time for a good sports "gossip".
Moloney's experience of preparation, training and playing elite sport had proved invaluable, O'Rourke said.
Her main aim for the season is to keep the spark in the game she loves.
More than anything, she wants to keep on learning.
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