Erena Mikaere has never felt more centred. The tenacious Silver Ferns defender feels she’s finally on top of the health issue that’s plagued her in recent years. Debilitating migraines that left her “blind and nauseous” on the netball court.
Back to her roots
At the same time, she’s anchoring herself in her whakapapa. Of Te Arawa and Tū hourangi descent, Erena has reconnected with her marae, Te Pakira, in Rotorua and has been reclaiming her te reo Māori as part of that journey.
She also bears a pūhoro tattoo, a traditional ta¯ moko flowing from her lower back to her Achilles, symbolising speed, strength and agility, all qualities Erena has embodied throughout her long netball career.
“In the past year, I’ve come to realise the benefits of knowing who you are and where you come from, and how that can make you feel tau – settled,” she says.
Erena has settled in her hometown with her partner Jaz and her 15-year-old daughter Bileigh, who’s recently moved in after living nearby with Erena’s parents. She’s also reunited with childhood friends, playing in their club netball team and swapping the defensive circle for the midcourt.
And she’s put no pressure on herself to be reselected in the Silver Ferns this season. But if she makes it again, she vows to give it everything she’s got.
Back in black at 36
Erena made her long-awaited return to the Silver Ferns last September – five years after last wearing the black dress. At 36, she was the oldest member of the team to take the court against the English Roses.
The imposing Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic goal keep, who first played for the franchise in 2012, is as competitive and as passionate about the game as ever. But she’s also aware there’s a new generation of talented defenders nipping at her heels.
Passing the torch
“Whatever happens happens,” says Erena, who turned 37 last week.
“If that’s my journey, I’ll take it with two hands. And if it’s no longer my purpose, then I’ll work out what’s next – it may be to serve my family.”
Erena is incredibly proud of daughter Bileigh, who’s carving her own path as a promising netballer.
“I’m also grateful she’s a good teenager,” enthuses Erena.
“She gets up at 6am on Tuesdays and goes to school netball training. If I’d had to do that at her age, I probably would have said, ‘Oh, this game’s not for me’, and quit!’”
While Erena played netball across the Tasman for four years – the first Kiwi imported into an Australian team in the ANZ Championship – a young Bileigh came back to Rotorua to live with her grandparents and start school.
When Erena returned to New Zealand in 2018, having won two Super Netball titles with the Sunshine Coast Lightning, Bileigh stayed with Erena’s parents Brenda and Kerry until Erena moved back to Rotorua.
More than just mum and coach
“Then she moved between us because we’re only three houses apart!” Erena laughs.
“But this is the first time she’s just lived with us and I love having her home. I also love that she spends so much time with her grandparents – she’s learned a different kind of love and compassion from them.”
Erena and Bileigh have also come together on the netball court, playing on the same club team.
“I played wing attack and Bileigh was goal shoot, and we loved it,” Erena says.
But there are challenges that come with being the daughter of a Silver Fern.
“She’s been compared to me – and it’s going to be like that for her. But she’s a much better shooter than I’d ever be!”
Bileigh was recently named as a trialist for the Aotearoa Māori secondary schools netball squad.
Erena has also reunited with some of the Bay of Plenty teammates she played with as a teen.
“We don’t train – we just play on Thursday nights and have fun,” she says.
“It’s another part of reconnecting with home.”
Returning to her roots is important to Erena.
Grounded in Whakapapa
“I don’t think I ever took it for granted, but I didn’t really understand what it meant to be grounded in your whakapapa,” she says.
“Sometimes you stray from it, but you just need to be pulled back to that place.”
It can be a simple thing, like dipping into a geothermal pool with her dad.
“After we started the ANZ Premiership season with a few losses, I rang Dad and said, ‘Do you want to go for a bath?’ We both love going to the Hirere, our communal thermal bath at Whakarewarewa. It’s so healing.”
Or it can be more profound, like supporting her Tūhourangi iwi protesting a controversial plan to lay sewer pipes alongside the sacred Lake Rotokākahi, where many of their ancestors perished in the 1886 Mt Tarawera eruption.
“That protest has really made me think how I leave this place for the next generation,” Erena reflects.
“And it’s the same with my netball – it’s how I leave the dress.”
Erena is committed to supporting the next generation of netballers.
Leading with experience
“If I’m selected for the Silver Ferns again, I’ll do my own job and support the beautiful young defenders coming through,” she asserts.
“If I still have the legs to run like the young ones, I can share my experience to help them tweak their game.”
To help her own process, Erena has found relief from the chronic migraines that have clouded her past few seasons.
“The migraines started quite minor 15 years ago, after I had my daughter,” she explains.
“But recently they got quite severe and were happening every second week. I knew something was wrong last season when I was playing the Stars and I went blind on court. It progressed to where I couldn’t shake a migraine for four days, even with my medication.”
From pain to power
Now Erena has found treatments to help her – Botox and mānuka honey. Through her neurologist, she has injections of botulinum toxin in her head and neck muscles every four months.
“It’s like a preventative treatment and it’s been life-changing,” she says.
She was playing in a sevens rugby tournament, watched by her mum, a neonatal nurse, when she discovered Ma¯nuka Performance honey products could offer fast relief.
She recalls, “Suddenly I couldn’t see, I felt nauseous and I started crying. I had one more game and I didn’t want to let the team down. “Mum told me to take a couple of ma¯nuka honey gels and it worked. It’s stopped the severity of the migraines. I know it’s different for everyone, but those things have helped me. Now I don’t freak out when I walk into a big stadium, looking up at the lights, worrying they’ll trigger another one.”
It’s a turning point that’s helped Erena feel more comfortable in her own skin – grounded in her whakapapa, surrounded by whānau, playing the game she loves on her own terms and paving a path her daughter may one day choose to follow.
