I’m sure readers will have experienced their own euphoric netball moments, not on quite the same level obviously: but that’s why we play isn’t it? The 1 goal victories against your arch rivals, the tournament final wins or the victories when your team is really up against it! That’s why we make sacrifices to train and play, why we get upset when we are benched - it’s for those moments when netball is euphoric and the glory is yours and your team mates!
I write about this today as I had my own euphoric netball moment recently!
To put it in some context it was touch and go whether I’d make the game at all. The youngest got chicken pox and the hubby was on a night shift and didn’t get home until 10mins before I was due to leave! If it wasn’t for him agreeing to stay up after working nearly 14 hours straight I would have missed my moment!
It was one of of those ‘backs against the walls’ games for my team mates and I. We only had one circle defender available, our regular Centre wasn’t fit through injury and we were against top of the league. We were second, on goal difference. So not the game preparation any of us wanted!
I didn’t start and during the second quarter we went 10 down. It didn’t look great but over the course of the last few weeks we have developed our team ethos and have improved our support and positivity for each other. By three quarter time we were one down and I was thrown into the deep end at WA
I’ve not had the season I have wanted to be fair. You only need to read my ‘netball mums’ blog to know that! There have been moments where I’ve wondered if the ACL reconstruction and later, arthroscopy, prehab and rehab had been worth it! It took me to some very dark netball places.
I can confirm, after just 15 mins of netball, those monotonous squats and lunges, often in isolation and bored out of my brain, were indeed worth every repetition! It wasn’t my best performance in a netball bib by any stretch of the imagination but I did the job i was brought on to do, keep ball safe, and thanks to some awesome interceptions from our makeshift defence, we won the game by 2!
It might not sound much but for me it was euphoric. I collapsed on the floor and allowed the tears to flow. ‘Sad bugger’ you may well think, but I can divulge I was not the only one in tears after that game!
Upon reflection, it is a personal disappointment that I haven’t had more glory moments in my netball playing or coaching career! I realise that is also my responsibility. It was my decision to give up playing for coaching and consequently not being a ‘successful’ coach in terms of trophies and league wins! (Not the only measure of success, as a coach, in my opinion though!)
My first netball glory moment was probably as an Under 18 County player and we came a very impressive 5th at the Alex Barless Intercounties tournament. East Hampshire have never been a threat to anyone but there we were mixing it with the ‘big girls’ of netball. Not only that we were competitive with them! We came out of nowhere to finish 5th, completely unexpected and probably not appreciated at the time, by myself and my team mates! I look back with euphoria, even if we were ignorant of it at the time!
My other euphoric netball moments came in 2012. I had been away for a number of weeks, unavoidably, but knew my team I coached were doing exceptionally well in my absence and were on course to ‘play off’ to get into the regional league. It was an aim we’d been working towards for a long time.
Turns out we’d be against our local rivals for a place in the league, the pressure was on! Then we found out we’d be without our star GS too! By this point I was back home and practicing shooting like a woman possessed! I won’t lie it was a special evening winning that game. I needed it and was probably more euphoric about doing it with my mates, than the actual result.
Later that year we had our first regional game........... away v Guernsey! We had more or less the same team, thankfully with our shooter this time! It was a magical day out, the airplane ride, 100+ spectators (there hadn’t been a competitive netball match in Guernsey for a number of years. They were new to the league too!) as well as TV & radio interviews! Not to mention the one goal win to us! It was proper heart stopping, nail biting, fist clenching stuff!
Probably my best ever euphoric netball glory experience! Here’s to more!
That's Guernsey game is one of my euphoric netball moments too! Four lung busting quarters at C and nearly getting knocked out by your sister 🤣 the memories!
ReplyDeleteYou’re probably not the only player to have a memory like that! 😳😂 #goodtimes It was an awesome spectacle that I will always remember fondly!
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