NETBALL, DESPITE IT’S reputation, is a fast-paced and highly technical test of skill, balance and endurance. Only a fool would call netball a girl’s sport. Until earlier this week I was that fool.
It’s no surprise that I had no real concept of netball. I spent my formative sporting years outdoors, segregated from netball and braving the cold northern winters with the other lads. We would wade through the mud and snow all the while casting jealous glances towards the warmth of the school sports hall where the girls would seemingly stroll around the netball court without so much as breaking a sweat. It looked like such an easy ride.
When it was suggested that I take part in a UYNC training session in preparation for my article I was unfazed. My contact on the team suggested that it was going to be ‘a lot of work’ and that I should take a friend for ‘moral support’. After ringing around the Vision team (most of whom were busy, did they know something I didn’t?) I was finally able to convince Halifax football captain Mark Lund to join me, he too was a netball virgin (understandable given his Rotherham upbringing). As we walked towards the sports tent we discussed the possibility of hitting the gym after the session. I think it’s needless to say that these plans never came into fruition.
The training session, we were told, would start with an hour of fitness and then an hour of netball practice. Within mere minutes of starting both Lund and I had broken into an uncontrollable sweat. We gasped for breath and struggled through the rest of a demanding fitness session led by the club’s own Sarah Fisher. The exercises seemed very appropriate for Netball with an emphasis on balance, stamina and strength training. It was a level of professionalism that I’ve rarely encountered in university sports teams.
After speaking to president Elizabeth Cowell it was obvious where this professionalism comes from: this is an ambitious bunch of girls. When asked what the best and worst aspects of the game are she was quick to answer ‘winning’ and ‘losing’ respectively; this was clearly a group of girls who played to win. Cowell cited their Roses win as her club’s greatest achievement and assured me that all three teams will be pushing for promotion this season.
The fitness session was followed by a series of practice matches which the girls graciously let us join in. Teams have seven players, each with their own specific job and areas of movement. I took the GA (goal attack) which I assumed was a link up role between GS (goal shooter) and C (centre) while Lund was given WD (wing defence), a position he felt to be ‘lacking in glory’. As the game started we were left bewildered by the speed of the sport, one lapse of concentration and the game could move from one end to the other. My confusion was never more obvious than when I caught the ball and in among the shouts of ‘shoot’ I panicked and lobbed the ball about five foot over the top of the net. Sadly this was just one of my many horror misses, and after seeing the seeming ease at which GS Claire Dinan could find the net I realised that netball is deceptively difficult. With the firm guidance of Centre Becky O’Dwyer, Lund and I were able to pick up the basics and move about the court without getting under everyone’s feet. I even scored a goal!
There is something wonderfully British about netball, the fast and furious pace in the middle of the park contrasts with the no-contact ruling and creates a sport that has all the virtues of passion without the problems of aggression. There is so much more to it than first meets the eye and to accuse it of being nothing more than a ‘softer’ version of basketball is to do the sport a great disservice; netball is a stirring mix of speed and skill.