Shooting hoops with Dani, KwaZulu-Natal’s sportswoman of the year

KwaZulu-Natal’s (KZN) reigning sportswoman of the year is 23-year old Ballito resident, Danelle (Dani) van der Linde.

Born in Wartburg in the KZN midlands, Dani has been sporty her entire life.

With 2 sisters and a brother, she always had someone to play with and it continues to pay dividends as she excels across multiple sporting codes.

Dani moved to Ballito with her family in 2007, going to school at Umhlali Prep and Ashton International College where she played almost any sport you could think of.

At high school she represented KZN for both hockey and netball, which has since become her primary sport.

“I represented SA in both U17 and U18 and was selected for the President’s squad 2 years ago. I have had a back injury recently but I am really looking forward to making that next step,” she said.

Netball is on the schedule for the next Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 and Dani is hoping to be a member of the strong South African squad which came 4th in the 2019 World Cup.

She generally plays goalkeeper, but can shift to fill whatever position is needed, given her wide skill set which include the ability of a wing or goal-attack to pass and shoot.

Though her injury temporarily paused proper netball, she was still able to train and cites running, cycling and boxing at Ringside Boxing Gym as her favourite exercise activities.

“I am not really one to relax, I prefer being busy outdoors, whether it be hiking, running or cycling. If I had a free weekend, I would say those are my primary hobbies.”

Dani is a member of both the Impis Ladies Hockey Club and Gilbert Netball Stars Club, the latter with whom she won this year’s KZN Netball Super League with 6 wins out of 6.

Outside of the sporting arena, she is studying towards a degree in foundation phase teaching while working full-time as a Grade R teacher’s assistant at Ashton.