There are many examples of my terrors but the one that demonstrates this aptly follows: I organised a petition to get rid of our County Under 18 Coach because I thought she was useless! I am ashamed. Obviously I would deal with such circumstances in a very different way now, I’m less than a year away from the big 4-0, after all!
I had a bit of a problem with netball authority you see and liked to rebel against the establishment. (Some of you reading this may be chuckling to yourself thinking not a lot has changed!)
Unfortunately, in my area, most of these figures were women of a certain age who had been in their voluntary positions for many years. They weren’t necessarily open to new ideas or suggestions from a stroppy teenager who didn’t have a polite word to say to anybody!
Therefore, I did label a fair few of them (near and far) the Blue Rinse Brigade!
Perhaps that age milestone is playing on my mind a bit! I look round at my club training sessions now and think ‘Wow! some of these girls are young enough to be my daughters - they must think I am ancient! I’m far off a blue rinse yet, however as a Coach who is always wanting to progress I am mindful of the relationship I have with these team mates and charges and will continue to be so.
As I typed that previous paragraph I realised that actually my own mother is part of that training session, so therefore many of those players are young enough to be her granddaughters! She won’t thank me for that but I will redeem myself my stating she still outclasses many of them! 😉
I am also one to reminisce and love a netball memory or two!
We had an awesome volunteer Chairperson of the local league, who was committed, reliable, highly organised, fair and sooooo incredibly passionate about netball. She wore many netball volunteer hats and was actually the person I sent the aforementioned petition too!
Now, understandably, after that point we didn’t really get along that well! Our paths crossed a few times (she was an assessor of my Umpire C Award for example - story for another time!) and a few years later she retired out of the area.
Now, has netball in the area ever really been the same since she left? Hell no. Like any league or area structure we have our netball ups and downs but it’s definitely a case of not knowing what you’ve got until it’s gone!
Another example of how not to stereotype our more mature netball volunteers comes from the Coaching Network I set up just over a year ago.
Knowing that coaching can be a very isolating experience and with a need for more support in our area, I invited some local coaches to get together once a month to share ideas, best practice and lend a hand to each other, when needed.
It’s been a great success, even if I do say so myself (!) but an important part of that success is the contribution of our eldest member, who will probably be reading this and panic stricken that I’ve mentioned her!
Her willingness to listen is what I’m most impressed by. She listens to hear, not to react. Yes, she contributes a huge amount. She has bundles of experience and her knowledge and stories are of great benefit to the rest of the group but, by her own admission, she wants to stay fresh and benefits just as much, if not more, than the rest of the group.
I have discussed with her how much I admire her attitude and commitment to stay up to date and admitted that I find it refreshing, as it’s not always been my experience with coaches or netball volunteers older than me! If I am half the coach this lady is, when I am her age, I will be exceptionally happy.
Perhaps my views, in the past and in the present, are ageist. If that is the case I really do apologise and promise to do better. Whilst my behaviour as a young Netballer wasn’t always to my own standards now, you do hold views based on your own experiences.
What I have learnt though that not all ‘Blue Rinse Brigaders’ are out to ruin your netball experiences! They have values and experiences that can benefit your own, they hold legacies that should not be ignored and more than that, the vast majority of them have been volunteering in netball for donkey’s years. The truth of the matter is you might not be playing without them!
I salute you Blue Rinse Brigade, I apologise for my past behaviours and will embrace you all from now on. Thank you for your devotion to netball!
Just for the record, when the time comes I will be going for the purple rinse! 💜
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