Young Tamworthian Ayva Steel set to pursue career inspired by something very personal

But someone very important to the 21-year-old was missing from the celebration to mark her graduation from Oxley High in 2018.

Her mother's inability to attend the event due to suffering from severe arthritis was a "very difficult" situation, Steel said.

In fact, the whole of 2018 had been a particularly trying period for Steel and her mother, whom she has long cared for.

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"It's been tricky," the Tamworthian said of caring for her mum, "especially through year 12; she had a lot of operations."

Sitting on a bench at Anzac Park, beneath a flawless sky, the OVA White goalkeeper soaked up a surprisingly warm early afternoon while fighting her emotions as she detailed her life.

It's just Steel and her mum living together now; Steel's elder brother left home.

"It's quite bad," she said of her mum's condition. "She's got a lot of mobility issues and hand issues."

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Steel is studying health science online through Western Sydney University. She hopes to change degrees and start studying occupational therapy next year.

She said she "always had a passion for helping people", given her home situation. As such, occupation therapy will "suit me very well, considering I've got a lot of experience".

Being a carer had "taken up a lot" of her time, she said, although she "wouldn't have it any other way".

"I think it's shaped who I am as a person ... my passion's occupational therapy. I think that [supporting her mum] started that."

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On Saturday at Johnson Field, Steel will be in action for OVA White against North Companions White. Second-placed OVA could finish the round atop the table.

They are one point behind Tamworth FC with two rounds remaining before the finals.

Steel said she was "probably" four years old when she began playing for OVA. Her father, Shane, played for the club.

She has been a first-grader since age 14, winning one premiership.

"Spent my Saturdays down at soccer," she said, adding: "Always been around it."

Steel said she had "found a new love" for goalkeeping this season, after previously playing centre-back predominantly. While OVA White, she continued, had "really come together now" after "a bit of a slow start" to the season.

"And I think we're in for a shot [at winning the comp]," added this lover of physical activity, camping and "hanging out" with family.

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