#18 We’re not football! And we don’t have to be!

I have written before about my distain for booing at netball matches. Surrey Storm netball supporters felt my wrath at the home game against Thunder last year. For me, it’s completely unnecessary. We are not football and we can carve our own, alternative, supporting path!

If it’s one criticism I had of the World Cup 2019 it was the booing in the arena - particularly of umpires.

I was watching a netball game in recent months involving potentially talented Netballers, not one over the age of 21 and most between 16-18 years old. It was a high level spectacle featuring many players on the performance pathway.

Given the age of such performers I was, therefore, very disappointed at the lack of sportsmanship shown from the supporters at the game, about 50 or so, mainly, but not exclusively made up of families, who thought it was appropriate to cheer a warning and then a caution. Again, completely unnecessary, unkind and impactful on a young player who needed to be taken away from the situation, clearly upset.

Warning and cautions are now part of netball, we see them every week at local courts as well as Superleague matches on TV. I don’t condone the actions of those who receive them - they’ve broken the rules - but surely we can just be more kind.

I’ve been a football fan in the past particularly when I was young. I’d think twice about taking my own children to football games, if they showed an interest, partly because of the supporters (and some footballers!) behaviour. ‘The referee’s a w*ne’er’ is not on the list for music lessons or school assemblies - as far as I know! 😉

Superleague pundits are right when they say netball needs to attract new audiences to the sport. I suggest families would be a great option - they are also revenue drivers. (Lets be honest that is where we are heading!)

Wouldn't it be nice to invest in and encourage a family friendly product? Young fans can be inspired and excited by our amazing Superleague athletes, teenagers can watch the latest warm ups and take ideas back to their own sessions & adults can be entertained with some edge of the seat score lines.

We don’t need criticism of umpires, cheering of sendings off and booing of substitutions to muddy that atmosphere. Those negatives can be toxic to our great game. Surely we are more than that? Surely we can be better!?!

#17 Coaching - a bigger responsibility than assumed?

I’ve been coaching netball, officially, since I was 16, assisting my Mum with the county U14 side.

If the truth be known I wasn’t a very good coach in my youth - but I guess many coaches, in many sports, might say that. You generally get better with experience!

One of my main motivations to get into coaching was that I was never really coached that well as a junior. There weren’t any junior clubs around in those days for starters. I am so envious of all the juniors these days - they get so many different options for netball and fabulous opportunities!

For me, getting into coaching was an escape but also motivation to do it ‘right!’

I had some lovely people as coaches, passionate, hardworking and dedicated. Their commitment to netball could never be questioned. They never really got the best out of me though. ‘Coaching the person, not the sport’ is a relatively new term, but I wished it was prevalent when I was younger.  I might well have been a better player!

There are definitely days when I regret getting into coaching so young.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing of course, but I don’t think many people appreciate what a huge responsibility being a sports coach is.

We could get into specifics (it would be a much longer blog!) but, generally, you are responsible for a person’s relationship with their chosen sport. A sport they love or will grow to love. A coach has a huge contribution to make to that journey. There are going to be far more pitfalls than positives along the way and a Coach has to manage that roller coaster.

As a Coach you also have a potential responsibility to change lives. That’s an incredibly privileged position to be in. I’m incredibly proud that I have been a small part of some life changing decisions made by Netballers under my care.

I have the honour, these days, of introducing youngsters to our great game. It’s a privilege to try and give these players a great first experience and one I take very seriously.

We have a huge problem in this country with obesity and other health problems putting a strain on our NHS. We also have problems with females dropping out of sport during puberty, which can have a knock on effect to mental, as well as physical, health problems. That also can have an impact on confidence and empowerment issues. If I can make just a small difference by giving opportunities to girls to fall in love with our game and not leave, ever, than I view that as a huge success.

That’s the aim anyway!

The responsibility is not just about the player though.

Coaches, worth their salt at least, have a responsibility to not just protect themselves (insurance is a minefield and never having a clear answer as to Walking Netball Host cover,  I’m probably over insured now!) but also to keep themselves up to date with CPD, new rules, issues ‘outside the norm’ etc.

Only recently I completed an online course entitled ‘Prevent’ looking at the risks of radicalisation and the support available to those vulnerable to those risks. Maybe you think that’s going ‘above and beyond’ as a Netball coach. But, in this day of age, is it really? 45 minutes and my knowledge in this area has improved ten fold - that can have an impact.

Another online training course I am looking forward to completing is one on ‘Mental Health’.

I remember asking my former employers around 4/5 years ago if we can have some training on spotting signs of mental health issues or a ‘mental health first aid’ course. I wasn’t exactly laughed at, but the response was not positive. My argument was if I’m doing a physical first aid training course, why not a mental first aid one? I’m delighted Sport England have developed a resource in this area- now I just have to find the time to complete it!

To be brutally honest there are days, many of them in fact, where I wish I didn’t take my responsibility as a coach so seriously! I come across coaches, all the time, who rock up without any preparation, deliver and leave without thinking about coaching until their next session. There are many reasons for this - not always negative and at the end of the day they are facilitating netball and should be appreciated for that. Some days I am envious of their ability to completely ‘switch off’.

There have been times in my coaching career that it has been all consuming. The analysis went too far, I was receiving calls late at night and i didn’t really have a life outside of netball. That is not healthy.

I do try to encourage up and coming coaches to learn from my mistakes, to strike a balance and be a better coach than me! Sometimes you have to learn from your own mistakes though and that is a responsibility in itself.

These days I have taken a step back from coaching. Although I probably deliver  as much now as I have always done, my relationship with coaching has changed for the better.

I am grateful that currently (but temporarily) I have found a job coaching that I can put my all into. I am much more disciplined about time spent coaching and time spent away from coaching though.

Finding a balance isn’t easy and for me it’s definitely a work in progress. It is much healthier though!
I am much choosier about the coaching opportunities I take on, preferably taking on the short term or one off roles. I love coaching but not sure if I am ready to take on that all consuming commitment

Former Adelaide Thunderbirds Dan Ryan has been vocal about how coaching can be all consuming and the effect it can have on mental health - particularly if success is elusive. This comes from someone at the very top of their game, coaching in a professional capacity. Some might say if there’s no hope ‘up there’ what chance is there for grass roots coaches?

I have been following The UK Players Netball Association twitter page since it’s inception and also follow the success of the similar organisation in Australia. Our great sport is growing and evolving and it is only right professional player’s needs and welfare are put as a priority. Isn’t it about time we provided the same opportunity to our coaches?