With over 300,000 followers on TikTok, Sophie Egbaran is already used to the limelight, but the netball player from Bedford takes the next step in a fledgling career next month with a trip to the Caribbean.
The 2023 Commonwealth Youth Games is taking place in Trinidad and Tobago from 4th to 11th August and Egbaran is part of the Team England netball squad hoping to strike gold for Team England.
Alongside a strong 59-person contingent, Egbaran is hoping to make her first international appearance after a successful season with Central Warriors where she picked up the Under-21 Player of the Year trophy.
“My faith helps me”
While the world of social media can often get bad press, in this instance it has helped Egbaran gain the confidence she has drawn upon to grow in her netball career.
Sophie believes the platform is the perfect place to keep people up to date with her journey in the Caribbean after using TikTok to create videos from everything about hair styles to her Christian faith.
“I feel like it really gives me a lot of confidence,” says Sophie.
“It has allowed me to have faith in myself but also deepened my faith in the Lord.
“If I didn’t focus on my religion and take it seriously, I feel like I would have always been nervous, not believed in myself and doubted myself.”
“I do everything from getting ready with me to talking about my walk with the lord and netball,” Egbaran said of her channel.
“I feel like it is so engaging, I don’t really get negative comments.
“When I see the comments they make me laugh, they give me ideas, and then obviously I am doing what they want some of the time.
“I started being quite subtle when talking about my walk with Christ, obviously I did not want to make it seem that I was pushing it on people.
“A lot of people on TikTok are young, so I just thought I would start it off, so that eventually people can do it for themselves and not because I said so.”
The Commonwealth Youth Games kicks off in Trinidad and Tobago on 4th August while the netball competition takes place across three days from 8th to 10th August at Shaw Park Cultural Complex on the island of Tobago.
