Cynna Kydd - Early Life

Early Life

Kydd was born in the Victorian regional town of Kyabram, and began playing competitive netball at age nine. Though also a talented swimmer, she was forced to make a choice between the two sports, and ultimately chose netball. She played for local and Goulburn Valley representative teams as a teenager and, in 1998 at the age of 16, was selected to play for the dominant Eastside Netball Club in the state Dairy Farmers State League competition, alongside three national league players. Despite a regular three-hour commute and having to juggle sporting commitments with studies at Kyabram Secondary College, she played an integral role in Eastside's premiership that year. She was subsequently named in the state under-21 squad for the annual Australian National Netball Championships and in the Melbourne Kestrels squad for the 1999 season.

Despite never having played a national league game, Kydd was selected in the national under-21 (U-21) team in 1999, which, as a result of reforms made that year, automatically saw her admitted to the Australian Institute of Sport (AIS). She spent the 1999 season playing for the AIS team in the Victorian state league, before switching to their South Australian counterparts for the 2000 season. Kydd, at 188 cm (6 ft 2 in) tall, established a reputation as an effective shooter, and despite often missing matches as a result of her national U-21 team was a key part of the team.