Za’Khari Turner: Star Athlete, Intern, Law Student

[Written by Patrick Bean]

Za’Khari Turner is a young woman with more than just the appearance of success, but that of most precious substance … gold.

Smart, engaging, talented both on and off the sporting pitch and harbouring a steely determination toward a career in sports law the 20-year-old has already accomplished much.

This summer has witnessed Turner excelling on dual fronts, as a gold medal winning member of the Bermuda women’s team at the Island Games, as well as a highly productive intern at the Bermuda Cricket Board [BCB], with Chief Executive Officer Cal Blankendal lauding her administrative skills.

“It’s been a pleasure to work with Ms Turner,” said Blankendal. “She’s easy going, hard working, very flexible and I believe she has a, idea of where she wants to go in life.

“It’s not easy trying to juggle the academic side along with playing at the highest level of sports, but if you want to be an outstanding student/athlete, while navigating your academic career that’s what you have to do.

“It’s no different than being a singular athlete, whereby you have to get up and put in the work even when you don’t want to.

“You have to juggle training and your personal performance and on both sides of the fence you have to perform to a high standard both in the classroom and on the field.

“We wish he all the best in her journey and whenever she’s on the Island we’d love to have her and would want to assist her in every way we can.”

The CEO noted how local sporting bodies and athletes could benefit greatly by having someone well versed in the area of sports law, whether it pertain to offering clear advice and translation of sporting regulations, potential legal ramifications for transgressions, as well as in the area of player agency.

Said Blankendal: “It would be good to have someone in Bermuda that we could use as a consultant or there may even be a day when she sits in this seat with a legal background and raise the bar.

“It’s up to her to decide how far she wants to take it. My advice to her and other young Bermudians is always to get as much experience overseas as she can, so that when she comes back she’s far ahead, because there’s only so much you can learn and do in Bermuda, while overseas the experience is more vast and complex.”

Such praise should come as no surprise, as the power of her self-will, discipline and commitment has long been evidenced by the exponential leaps and bounds already made by Turner, whether it be standing on the podium as a champion goalkeepr for her country or in the classrooms at Leicester’s De Montford University as a legal scholar.

Turner arrived at BCB after being accepted into the Department of Workforce Development’s Summer Internship Programme and being offered a 10-week course of employment at the charitable organisation.

“I applied for the Bermuda Workforce Development Summer Internship and I was asked if I was interested in working at the Bermuda Cricket Board with Cal,” explained Turner, just prior to departing the Island in order to resume her school studies. “I thought it was a great opportunity because I’m studying sports law in University.

“I play football with the Bermuda national team, but I’m studying law at De Montfort University.

“I’ve had a great experience here at the Bermuda Cricket Board, seeing all of the legal aspects behind the tournaments, which I find exciting, because as an athlete with the national team I’m able to see what goes on behind the scenes legally.

“I’ve been able to look at players and make sure that they qualify for the regulations and all of that, making sure each player can participate and make sure everything is done correctly from a legal aspect.”

Turner has been intimately involved with the newly formed Bermuda Premier League [BPL], which is set to take place September 6 to 10 and involve four teams, including the Barbados national team, Grassroots Cricket Academy of Antigua and Barbuda, Bermuda’s senior men’s team, as well as a Bermuda team of emerging players, playing under the electric T20 format.

“I’m in a perfect situation where I’m learning a lot,” said Turner. “Cal has been really good, helping me throughout the whole journey for the entire time I’ve been here.

“Even though it’s been only 10 weeks I feel like if I have learned so much.

“He’s put me up to so many tasks and allowed me to shadow him to various meetings and allowed me to meet so many different people where I’ve been able to learn first-hand about all the partnerships and see how he goes about networking and engaging partners.

“I can take everything that I’ve taken from him – the way he carries himself in a professional manner—and use it in the future, when I’m dealing with a bunch of legal things, whether it be partnerships or other joint ventures.

“I’ve been able to experience and learn a lot of the marketing aspect. I wrote a newspaper article for the board and also put together a schedule for the upcoming tournament.

“So I’ve been able to create different things to help them when the tournament happens. I had to go up to the stadium and count all the spots that we could use, so that we can set up tents and stuff for people to get spots.”

Turner has a keen interest in the sport of cricket, however, with a flourishing amateur football career and having great potential for entering the professional ranks, she has had little time to actively participate.

“When I was younger I got MVP at an all-star match because of a catch I made,” said Turner, with a sly grin. “I’m very interested in cricket.

“I enjoy playing, even though I wouldn’t want to go professional, but I would want to play for the league as if the national team wanted me I would definitely consider it.

“I’m definitely very interested in cricket.”

Once a precocious talent on the track, where she excelled in the 200, 400 and 800, Turner’s first love has always been football, where she started as an outfield player, but became a goalkeeper following a chance occurrence that saw her lose a rock/paper scissors game against a teammate.

“I’ve been with the national team since the Under-15s and I played in over 25 international matches for Bermuda,” said Turner, who should capture her 26th cap when Bermuda plays Dominican Republic on September 22. “Growing up I attended Paget Primary. I went overseas for school, came back and went to TN Tatum Middle School, where I did track and field and was a member of the Bermuda Pacers Track Club.

“I travelled abroad with Bermuda Pacers and participated at the East Coast Invitational. I ran for Pacers in the relay and my individual disciplines, which were the 200, 400 and 800.

“At inter-school sports I won multiple medals, however I participated in the Middle Schools All-Star match for girls’ football for TN Tatum. I was an outfield player at the time, but then our keeper did not attend the match, so me and my friend ended up doing rock, paper, scissors and I ended up in goal.

“We lost the match, which was a big let-down at that moment, but it ended up as a positive thing because that’s where I got scouted for the National Academy, where I ended up playing in goal and was seen by coach Nikita Robinson, who invited me to the national team.

“We went on a trip to IMG Academy and won the gold medal at the CONCACAF Under 15 tournament and that’s where they saw me, as it was hosted by IMG Academy.

“So they wanted me to come there and offered me a scholarship, thus I was able to go there and play against many of the top collegiate teams in the US, including teams that had national players from Brazil and I was able to train with the leading goalkeepers from the US and be around a lot of positive people who played for the national team and they were able to push me.

“Beyond that I continued with the national team.”

Turner’s upward trajectorycannot be denied and her irrepressible attitude demands even greater honours.

#BermudaCricket #GoodNews #PatrickBeanReports

Category: All, News, Sports