Paris’ story: 'It was like someone had shot me in the leg'

For a few moments in Paris Lokotui’s promising netball career, time stood still.

The 21-year-old was playing for the Central Pulse against the Southern Steel in the ANZ Premiership. She’d gone down in a heap.

“I caught the ball behind me,” she remembers.

“I landed on my right foot, but my left foot didn’t land properly, and I felt my knee cave in.”

She heard the double-blow of the umpire’s whistle. She was surrounded by her team-mates and knew the vision of her writhing in pain was live on Sky Sport.

“It was overwhelming in that moment. It was like someone had shot me in the leg and I was in a bad way. I could feel the concern all around me.”

Paris had heard a loud popping noise. She feared she had ruptured the ACL (anterior cruciate ligament) in her knee.

Pulse physio Ari Carroll did a quick knee test which confirmed her worst fears. Paris had just been selected in the Silver Ferns training squad and was trying not to cry.

“A lot of emotions ran through my head,” the mid-courter says.

“I knew it was going to be a major setback. I had worries I might not come back as the same player and get back to that level.

“But I had a load of people saying to me, ‘You’re only 21, you have a long career ahead of you’, so I tried to stay positive.”

Paris had reconstructive surgery just a few weeks after suffering the injury. Her long journey back had begun.

Getting back on the court

The Wellingtonian now calls Christchurch home.

She has made a fresh start with the Mainland National Netball League side and has recently completed her long-awaited comeback.

“It was a big moment and a great achievement after all the hard work,” she says. 

“I was a bit nervous but that was more about playing well, so I didn’t let anyone down,” she says.

 “But most of all I was just excited to be back and doing something I love.”

Sharon Kearney, Netball NZ Lead Physiotherapist and NetballSmart Consult, says Paris has done an amazing job to be back on court 10 months after her injury.

“Now improving her netball will start,” she says.

“By continuing to focus on improvement and her strong desire, I’m sure Paris can make her way back into contention for the New Zealand squad.”

Paris says watching the Silver Ferns’ success at the Commonwealth Games during her rehab only added to her motivation.

“The thing I missed most was being around the team environment,” she says. “I’ve been involved in team sports my whole life so it’s great to be back.”

Staying injury-free with NetballSmart

Her injury has given Paris a new sense of perspective. Doing the NetballSmart warm-up every time she plays and trains if now a top priority.

“Before my injury I took my body for granted,” she admits. “I was like, ‘Nah, I’ll be sweet’ when it came to warm-ups – but not anymore.” 

She says all younger players need to know the importance of the NetballSmart warm-up – jumping, landing and changing direction.

“We need to instil NetballSmart in our young players so they grow up with good habits and can look after their bodies,” she says. 

“Once you experience that personal cost of a serious injury, you know what you’re missing.”

Sharon says the jump and landing resources NetballSmart provide not only help a player to minimise injury and improve performance, they can also help an injured player return to play.

Making a difference for Māori and Pasifika

Paris’ dad is Tongan and her mum is Māori. Her family come from Ngati Kuri, Te Rarawa and Ngai Tahu. 

She has a talented whānau. Her brother Cody, who she lives with in Christchurch, is in his second year at the Crusaders Academy. Their father Lua Lokotui played for Tonga in two rugby World Cups.

She wants to tell her story to help others.

“I think someone like myself with a Māori background, and also a Polynesian background, sharing their story can have a big impact,” she says.

“I want to be that role model for the next generation of players and help them believe that if I can do it, when I came from the same area, the same culture, the same background, well, they can do it too.”

ACC research shows Māori are almost twice as likely to experience a serious injury but are almost 20 per cent less likely to make a claim.

Māori make up a quarter of all traditional netball participation but, according to the 2021 Voice of the Participant survey from Sport NZ, are less satisfied with their overall netball experience.

This is something ACC and Netball NZ are working on to change and Paris wants to help.

“I want Māori and Pasifika players to know about injury prevention, and the support that is available for them if they do get injured,” she says.

“If, by sharing my experience, it will help others to learn, then I’m all for that.”

NetballSmart playing a key role

ACC invests in Netball NZ to help deliver the NetballSmart training programme.

Netball is the most popular sport for females in New Zealand, with over 136,000 players nationwide.

But it's also causing a high rate of serious knee and ankle injuries in female players.

Every year, ACC helps people recover from around 25,000 netball-related injuries and it costs approximately $30m to provide this support. 

NetballSmart is an evidence-based framework made up of six principles. It helps improve players’ performance in sport by preventing injuries.

The six principles are: preparation, dynamic warm-up, cool down and recovery, movement, training, player welfare and wellbeing, and injury management.

More information is available at the NetballSmart website.

NetballSmart – Official injury prevention programme of Netball New Zealand