If there’s one thing that Avaani Prakash swears by, it is hardwork and perseverance. The 18-year-old is an attacking midfielder who was picked for the National Premier League team when she was just nine years old, and has been a part of the Junior and Young Matildas teams. But her love for soccer goes further back.
Prakash, whose Fijian-Indian parents immigrated to Australia in the early nineties, played soccer alongside her younger brother in an all-boys team, while also pursuing her other interests like swimming and karate. But to her, it soon became clear that soccer was where her true passion lay, and she hasn’t looked back since.
“My dad played soccer, as did my younger brother… so in a way I have always been around the sport and fell in love with the game,” Prakash says.
After being picked for the National Premier League team, she joined the Football NSW Institute program for five years.
Recalling her experience, Prakash says the invite-only trials were extremely competitive with the “best of the best” in the state competing for the limited spots.
“I was young and didn’t think much of it,” she admits candidly about the trial and her nerves, but upon her selection, she was jubilant to be joining a talented team.
“For the five years I was there, we really dominated the league even though we were a younger team,” she says.
Managing her education alongside her soccer career was a bit of a juggle, but attending a sports high school certainly helped.
“It was pretty flexible… to balance my studies and soccer,” she says, while sharing the past two years have probably been the hardest for her.
Prakash moved to Melbourne when she turned 16 after being picked by Western United in a trial that her mother had prodded her to compete in.
“I played one game, and the next day they offered me a contract.”
Moving was hard, she admits, but playing at the A-league level – the highest in the country – was too good an opportunity to pass up on. And it paid off – she was the youngest ever debutant and goal scorer for her club.
“It was always something that I wanted to do and achieve,” Prakash shares, while concurring the experience has lifted her game. From playing with girls her age, she was now playing with comparatively older players.
“It was definitely more professional… I learned a lot in two years in Melbourne, surrounded by great people and role models. The pace of the game was a lot faster and being around senior girls made a lot of difference.”
Meanwhile, Prakash continued her studies through an online school, managing examinations and coursework alongside training.
“And because I’m in the under-20 Australian squad, I was away a lot,” she says.
Prakash shares she appeared for her Year 12 HSC exams early, and wrote the very late exam on the night she had to leave for Colombia for the under-20 women’s World Cup last year, and while the Young Matildas got knocked out at the group stage, it was a great learning experience.
“The greatest experience I’ve ever had is putting on the green and gold jersey,” she says, adding that the exposure you get playing opposite international teams is unmatched.
After scoring an ATAR of 97.95, Prakash, who is back in Sydney, has joined the University of New South Wales to pursue her Bachelor’s of Commerce on a scholarship.
“I’ve always been someone who’s wanted to do well both in my academics and my sport, so it wasn’t very hard to be motivated,” she says, highlighting that her education is extremely important and graduating with a degree is a no-brainer.
Prakash credits her support system and coaches for the part they’ve played in getting her where she is today – especially her parents who’ve “sacrificed a lot for me to be in the position that I am today”.
“I’m very grateful for that,” she adds.
The ultimate goal, she says, is to play for the Matildas and hopefully alongside Mary Fowler.
“Because we play the same position – and Sam Kerr.”
For now, Prakash is busy training with the Future Matildas program for the Asia Cup qualifiers in August. A qualification for the Asia Cup, which is scheduled for next year in Australia, would also mean a qualification for the World Cup.
For other young women like her, Prakash has one piece of advice, which is to believe you can do whatever you put your heart into.
“At the end of the day, it has to come from yourself… I know what I want and I’ve been focused on achieving the goals I’ve needed to achieve. If you love what you’re doing, then you can make anything possible,” she says.
