#30 I’m a World Class Netball Coach

Some statement ay!?! Caught your attention though! 

It’s National Coaching Week, an initiative by Sports Coach UK that runs every year, to empower sports coaches and raise awareness.  

Sports Coach UK says: 

‘The awareness campaign - which empowers athletes, coaches and the public to celebrate great coaching - will centre on the need to ‘Support Your Coach’, kicking off with the #GreatCoachingPledge that will call in the nation to give some of their own time, sharing thanks and support for the coaching community’

I am a huge advocate of coaches - I believe it can be a hugely isolating role and often goes unappreciated, especially at grass roots. So any campaign that celebrates coaching has a big thumbs up from me! 

One of the responsibilities I loved about my previous role as a Netball Development Community Coach was working with up & coming coaches, supporting them in their qualifications, mentoring and general hand holding! 

I may not be in that role anymore but that hasn’t stopped me in a voluntary capacity! 

Coaches Network is a group of local netball coaches I put together 2 years ago to share ideas, best practice and generally be a support network. We tried to meet up either face to face or online every month before COVID-19 took a grip. Even through lockdown the conversations and morale boosting has been strong. 

Which brings me back to the controversial ‘I am a World Class Coach statement’! 

One of the things I notice in Coaches Network ALOT and speaking to other, mainly female, coaches across a variety of sports, is the under confidence in our own abilities and the almost apologetic nature when we (reluctantly!) speak about our achievements. 

It is quite remarkable and also really quite sad. 

I was delighted to attend the Project 500 Zoom Q&A with Judy Murray during lockdown. What a worthwhile hour. I learnt heaps and was so inspired. 

The two stand outs, even months ahead are definitely: 

💜 Step out of your comfort zone: it’s amazing what you can learn & achieve. 

Judy told of her reluctance to ‘spread the women’s coaching word’ for fear of public speaking, until an associate pointed out that she was perhaps, part of the problem! You’ve got to see it to achieve it! 

💜 What are you World Class in? 

She told us it took her a long time to realise but she is a world Class Coach in her own right. She is a World Class Tennis Coach of Under 10s. 

The message was definitely one of ‘why are the ‘best’ coaches coaching elite squads and programmes? You’ve got to have the best people coaching at the best level for them and the participants.’ 

My understanding is you have to have the right / best coaches coaching your beginner juniors because this is what sets them up for potential success - whether that’s a life long love of sport or the other end of the spectrum: world titles and elite success. 

It’s simple really but it smacked me in the face like a wet fish! 

Ever since that Zoom Q&A, alongside some, frankly feminist, as well as coaching- themed, reading and listening (I am a sucker for a podcast!) I have gone out of my way to step out of my comfort zone. 

It’s take courage and an enormous amount of energy to get over some anxieties - about how I am perceived, about how I look / sound and under confidence in whether my experiences, my knowledge is enough. 

But frankly, how can I mentor up & coming coaches if I don’t step out of my own comfort zone? 

One of the consequences of me ‘stepping out’ can be found here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1OXFImrVL9ft9Hd8WB9oYJ 

It’s not perfect but it is real! 

I have another opportunity to step out of my comfort zone as just prior to starting this blog I agreed to be part of a webinar speaking about returning to coaching from lock down. I’m sweating just thinking about it! It’s another opportunity to share my experiences though and also I never come away from these type of events without learning something myself. Genuinely. 

So, in conclusion and to round up my Coaching Week blog, I am a World Class Back to Netball Coach. 

There it is in black and white! There is no one raising an eyebrow more than me, I can assure you, but frankly I can back it up with figures, experience and expertise. I have passion, I have sustainability, I have confidence. 

I am a World Class Back to Netball Coach. 

What are you World Class at? What could you be World Class at? 

#29 Defence of the Netball Realm

If there’s one thing I didn’t expect to be doing during 2020 it’s defending our National Governing Body! It’s fair to say I haven’t been their no1 fan over the years, but 2020 has thrown up all sorts of surprises! 😉

The netball family is obviously keen to get back on court - many leagues and competitions have been cancelled and most  ‘ballers haven’t been near a netball court since March. 

England Netball, in my opinion, have done an AMAZING job in last few weeks of launching the #riseagain campaign and explaining (for those members wishing to know!) how they’re going to get us back on court, safely. They have also made it very clear this is not a race and netball family safety is a priority. 

I will admit to being a reluctant attendee to one of the Rise Again Zoom meetings. No one else within my club was available to attend 🙄 and I did make a promise to my Netball in the Community ‘ballers that I will keep up to date on all the latest guidance. 

So, slightly late to proceedings and without my video on as I was eating my dinner, I was prepared to half listen and even had a note book by my side! 

Literally from the opening sentence, I was transfixed! My dinner went cold and my pen was poised! 

The level of professionalism, detail and sensitivity throughout the presentation was exceptional. That shouldn’t really be a surprise from an award winning NGB, but I think sometimes we forget the extraordinary circumstances we find ourselves in. Maybe we’ve, unfortunately, become too used to the coronavirus terminology, news reports about death rates and track & trace information to remember this is something no one has ever had to deal with before - let alone an NGB more used to organising competitions, courses and performance analysis for the Roses! (Amongst lots of other things obvs!) 

Some of the stand outs for me included: 

💜 The amazing analysis completed: for every 10 minutes of footage, 6 hours of analysis was completed. 

💜 Think basketball & netball are similar games? Think again! Especially when it comes to the risk of passing on coronavirus. The amount of time ‘ballers are face to face is far superior to basketball, where much more of the action takes place side to side. 

💜 30% discount on affiliations for those members effected by coronavirus. The sensitive & understanding way this was presented was, I think, well thought through. EN has encouraged those who can, pay the full amount in order to help netball #riseagain 

💜 So many bases covered in so much detail! In the limited time they had the presenters did an awesome job of pitching the information, the problems EN face and the solutions they are putting together. The level of detail was startling but we weren’t bombarded by facts & figures for the sake of it - the examples given were valid, understandable and used to manage expectations. 

The level of work and detail really is phenomenal, which makes it all the more frustrating that there is beginning to be murmurs of criticism of EN, particularly on social media. 

It really does beggar belief that I am the one up in arms defending them against the criticism! 

Some may say I am wasting my breath. They may have a point, but the unfairness of it all really sticks in my throat. 

EN don’t want members off the courts! Their whole existence is based on people playing the sport! 

I don’t know how many of their staff are furloughed but I know some are. Despite this they have written a ‘return to play’ document for the government at a moment’s notice, organised, promoted, planned and delivered a range of online training sessions, communicated their plans with members and continued their ‘normal’ work of netball governance. 

In my opinion the criticism is ludicrous, uninformed & completely unconsidered. 

To ask questions which have already been answered, if only the people asking them had joined the zoom call or watched the recording, is just a waste of everyone’s time. 

To me, it also shows a commitment to stir trouble rather than get behind netball when it really needs us the most! 

Wouldn’t the time be better spent supporting the work being done to get us back on court, coming together with the netball community to help netball #riseagain and finding solutions to the challenges ‘ballers face during the pandemic? 

I’ve seen some critics ‘excuse’ their negative comments by confirming netball is their business or livelihood. Understandably they are worried. 

But, again, wouldn’t be the time be spent better working through coronavirus challenges than moaning on social media? I too earn a living through netball via ‘Netball in the Community’. I have never been so busy and could fill my evening sessions for lockdown 1:1 and small group sessions three times over. 

As always, in general society, not just netball, it is a minority that spoil it for the vast majority. The netball community is, by enlarge, extremely supportive and right behind the #riseagain campaign. 

If you haven’t seen the #riseagain presentation I strongly suggest you make some time to do so. Don’t let the length put you off it really is worth it! 

https://m.youtube.com/watch?utm_campaign=1485548_RiseAgain+-+Launch+-+Clubs+%26+Leagues&v=dHQlMb0zFdU&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=All+England+Netball+Association+Limited&dm_i=4NYO%2CVU98%2C3H5IUD%2C3XGV8%2C1&utm_medium=email

I also urge you to become an EN member for the 20/21 season. There is a 30% discount if you need it and an email have gone out to all last years members to make the process heaps simpler & quicker. 

By coming together, all of us, as a proper netball community netball will rise again! We are always stronger together. 

#28 Sexism in Netball

#27 CAPS

According to the NGB website the Club Action Plan Scheme (CAPS) is designed as a ‘development tool which enables you to develop a wide range of areas within your club’. 

To be fair to the NGB they acknowledge the vast amount of work volunteers put in to make netball happen and go on to say ‘ England Netball relies on volunteers and clubs to help us in all areas, and they make a huge contribution to the game of netball. We have developed a toolkit to help you pull together the evidence you will need to gain the accreditation and will show you key areas where you might need further work.’

https://www.englandnetball.co.uk/support/support-for-organisations/clubs/caps/ 

In essence, CAPs is meant to help volunteers run their netball club - give them the tools to make it easier and ensure netball happens in a safe way, so participants keep coming back for more! 

Except it doesn't, well not in my opinion anyway. I’ve just finished coordinating my third CAPs folder, and despite assurances that ‘it’s so much easier and quicker’ online, it’s not. 

In fact I would go as far to say it’s much more difficult and takes much longer. 

It has taken me best part of a year from first email to confirmation that we have passed. 11 months if you take out the month long ‘break’ I took from it. 

That in itself should tell you everything you need to know about CAPs - I had to take a break from completing it because it became so stressful, overwhelming and all-consuming. 

This is a tool that’s meant to help volunteers! 

I’m happy to explain some examples to emphasis my point - there are far more then just these three  though! 

1) 6 months for my DBS check. To put this in some context I had to do another DBS for my job just before Christmas: which took 5 days! I even worked out what the problem was (automated email for payment was going to an old work email - those who know my old employers will see the irony!) but still nothing was done! I called the DBS service myself - where they did indeed confirm my suspicions! Eventually, after nearly 6 months, the NGB took payment over the phone! 

2) The vast amount of chasing up I needed to do. To their credit I know how hard our local NGB staff members work - but with a part-time NDO (Full time until recent years but the County has not got any smaller!) and the fact that they were over subscribed with CAPs folders ('‘We had such a high number of folders at this assessment - think the competition changes definitely contributed as we had by far the most folders!’') The poor staff members must be stretched to the limit. I know they have targets and successful CAPs folders are one measure of success. Perhaps there was just too many to support in the last year, maybe they wanted some held over until the next year!?!

3) Over qualified volunteers! Our Safeguarding Officer is a high ranking Children’s Social Worker and as such her qualification superseded the documents listed to be verified. I wont go into detail but honestly, it caused so much adversity we nearly lost a valued volunteer over it! 

In conclusion the CAPs folder just doesn’t do what it sets out to do! I would go as far to say it’s become a hindrance, not a help. 

It’s probably best to confirm I do agree, in principle, to some of what CAPs sets out to achieve. Of course clubs should have safeguarding measures in place, an appropriate number of qualified first aiders, regular communication with parents and qualified coaches looking to up skill. 

You only have to watch the recent ITV investigation into British Gymnastics to know how important these checks are. 

Our already overworked and undervalued club volunteers, the ones completing this never ending CAPs folder, probably don’t have time to up skill everyone on the benefits of website design, for example, at a committee meeting though. 

My research indicates there may even be clubs that ‘fake’ evidence or have committee members ‘for the sake of CAPs ’ in order to pass the accreditation. 

Why do clubs need the CAPs accreditation anyway? Well, in some areas, leagues demand that all clubs competing must have at least a bronze CAPS accreditation. 

It is the ONLY reason I had to go through this process. 

I am pretty sure a brief, but concise, checklist of qualifications and documents - with support from NGB members of staff as to where volunteers can obtain such qualifications, would be a beneficial alternative for all. It would also help those staff members plan such courses! 

I am not an expert but common sense dictates that list should include 

- a recent safeguarding / child protection course

- an in-date first aid qualification

- relevant equality training

- DBS checks for all adults working with juniors 

- check that coaches have relevant qualifications and recent CPD. 

How many of each document would reflect how many members the club has. 

I also agree that these qualifications should be regularly checked and updated. 

I don’t think it needs to have whether a Club cheque book has two signatories on it (who uses cheque books anymore anyway!?!), different ways the club communicates with members (if they weren’t communicating effectively they wouldn’t be a club!) or a declaration that committee members live at the same address. (Really!?!) 

As the CAPs folder stands at present I would estimate at least 50% of it is either not relevant or can be lost. That’s half the work load for our fabulous netball volunteers and half the work load for our NGB staff members - resources that can be deployed in more beneficial ways. 

I am a huge advocate of our army of netball volunteers, netball simply wouldn’t happen without them. I believe we need to be making their job easier  in order to administrate, organise and grow our great game. 

We need more hardworking, passionate volunteers not less. 

CAPs needs an urgent review and until that happens my advice to all netball volunteers is not to touch it unless you really have to! 

#26 Coaching during Lockdown

Anyone else tearing their hair out now? I know we’ve had a few ‘relaxations’ but this #lockdown scenario is really starting to get to me.

Thank goodness for netball because I honestly think it is the only thing that is keeping me sane at the moment.

I decided to see if there was any need, firstly for 1:1 sessions, then small group sessions when groups of 6 was allowed, about 3 weeks ago. The response has been mind blowing! I’m a little worried that I’ve created a monster and people may start getting annoyed that I can’t fit them in, but that’s a worry for another day!

I’m leading the sessions around my husband’s shifts because, if you didn’t know already, I have a couple of daughters, aged 7 & 2, who need looking after! In the nicest way possible they are why I need to get out to netball! Anyone who is homeschooling, looking after a toddler or both during coronavirus, will know where I am coming from!

These sessions have had a fair amount of planning put into them, as always from me, to be honest! ‘Preparation prevents piss poor performance’ is one of my most favourite mantras!

The 1:1s have been pretty straight forward in terms of coronavirus, it’s been the creativity thats had the most consideration needed. Planning 45 minutes of netball work with just 2 people at a 2m distance is quite a challenge but manageable with some thought! I’ve had a fair few re-bookings though, so to keep thinking of new ideas, keep the participant engaged and for it to beneficial has got me thinking outside the box! That’s no bad thing. I am definitely learning lots!

The small group sessions where social distancing must be adhered to and equipment sharing ‘kept to a minimum’, has been the most challenging! It took me best part of a weekend to plan an hours session that I thought was appropriate, advantageous & can tick all the coronavirus criteria safety boxes. I am normally a perfectionist it’s true, but making sure everything is as right as it can be is even more important during these turbulent times! It’s a heck of a responsibility.

The most important thing of course is that the participants are as safe as possible. There has been an unprecedented demand since I ‘opened’ these opportunities. I did wonder if they would be popular given the potential ‘risk’ involved. I needn’t have worried!

Just from my experience in the last two weeks, I can share that the positive impact emotionally and mentally on these social Netballers far outweighs the physical benefits, as well, I guess, as the risks of picking up Covid 19.

You can literally see the difference from ladies walking in with the weight of the world on their shoulders to walking out, a bit taller with a spring in their step!

There is a real mixture of experiences as well. We’ve had ladies attending who are key-workers:  nurses and Police Officers to those working in domestic violence settings and teachers. There have been a lot of Mums, many open about their struggles with home schooling, toddlers and children with additional needs - sometimes all three. We’ve also had ladies who live alone, either furloughed or working from home and admittedly really struggling with the isolation.

The 55 minutes they spend with their team mates, or 45mins they spend just with me in a 1:1 is seen as a bit of a lifeline for them. They can ‘escape’ from their reality and it visibly, really gives them a lift.

We can only have the 5 participants in a group at the moment, but the banter, cameraderie and spirit comes back almost immediately and something you only really get with team sports and in my opinion, a certain style of it with women! Without getting too deep and meaningful it’s almost spiritual, women can ‘tune in’ to each other so perfectly.

So, as much as I am delivering a service and netball is mine, and my participants passion, it’s not the actual sport or coaching that’s given me an incredible buzz this week. It’s been the beautiful picture walkers by have experienced, the laughter and banter ringing in my ears on my cycle home and the wonderful messages of appreciation and support received.

After all, there is no community like the netball community.

#25 Lets here it for the Non Volunteers!

This week has been National Volunteers Week and I’ve been pretty busy on social media thanking and hi-lighting the incredible efforts netball volunteers go to to make our great sport happen!

I am a true believer that without this fabulous army of volunteers across the globe, netball just would not be in the great place it is currently. Whether it’s someone offering to wash the bibs each week for the local, social team to the Regional Chair dedicating so much time and energy to the governance and administration of netball, as well as everyone in between. You are all worth your weight in gold and ‘thank you’ will never be enough.

It has also got me thinking about the ‘non-volunteers’ and the essential role they play in netball across the globe.

A ‘non-volunteer’, in my eyes anyway, is someone who is paid to do a task or tasks. Volunteers do not get paid.

Until quite recently I think payment in netball was quite controversial. Especially at grass roots.

I remember in my previous role, strongly backing a local league organiser against a plethora of criticism from my colleagues and local netball volunteers, because she made a bit of money for it!  She was (and still is!) doing a fabulous job. It wasn’t by any means paying her mortgage or even a small percentage of her bills but she saw a niche and went for it. We should be celebrating a women’s entrepreneurship. She was clearly doing a much better job than her competitors (corporate and voluntary run) proven by the fact so many teams went from those competitions to hers! It also continues to grow and I say good on her!

I had to really fight her corner to the ‘powers that be’, many of whom didn’t like the evolution of netball or something done differently. I say ‘embrace change, or be left behind!’

I also remember the angst I felt, before I asked for remuneration from the club I had been coaching voluntarily at, for a number of years! It was such a big decision for me to ask and I felt so guilty even contemplating it!

The facts speak for themselves though. For every £20 I earned coaching a 90minute session, I offered (and still do!) free planning & prep of those sessions, review and reflection, out of training communication with players (mostly at times not convenient to me!) as well as more CPD undertaken than a lot of my coaching peers! Coaching at games wasn't (and still isn’t) paid for, so the majority of the work that went in to ‘paid for’ coaching is still voluntary.

My point is this. Yes, we have an amazing army of netball volunteers who should be much more appreciated than I feel they currently are. We also have a spectacular array of ‘non-volunteers’ - those netball stalwarts who do so much for our great game, get less then a little in return, but still go above and beyond to make netball happen!

What is amazing, to me at least, is that these ‘£20 per hour’ coaches, those league organisers who make a little extra for their holiday funds or ambitious umpires who travel the country for expenses, for more court time experience, think they are the luckiest people ever for ‘getting paid’ for doing something they love! It’s the participants they are coaching, the players who compete in their leagues and the athletes these umpires officiate, who are the lucky ones, if you ask me!

I’ve been thinking about this a lot more during lockdown as my ‘little project’ that’s been around for a couple of years, ‘Netball in the Community’ has had more time dedicated to it and as such is just starting to get a bit busier!

Before lockdown I offered some freelance coaching and organised fun  & friendly festivals within the ‘Netball in the Community’ project. What I made didn’t warrant registering as self employed, but I do like to do things properly! Most of the festivals I organise are for Children in Need,  Sport Relief or local good causes anyway!

The netball void in recent months has been vast, but the 1:1 sessions and more recent small group  restrictions being lifted, has seen my coaching engagement go from  0-60 in a matter of hours! I have never been so popular on Facebook!

Even the fact that I’m ‘providing something that local players want and charging for it’  is completely out of my comfort zone!

But, you see, that’s what I think myself and my fellow ‘non volunteers’ have in common: we’re still volunteers at heart and like all volunteers do it for ‘love’ first!

#24 Reaction to Superleague 2020 cancellation

Inevitable you may think, that the Vitality Superleague 2020 has been cancelled because of the impact of Corona virus. Doesn’t make it any more disappointing  though, does it!?!

I’m very grateful I was able to get last minute Storm v Thunder tickets before the lockdown began - even more grateful I made the effort to go! 😉

I was meant to take my eldest to her first Superleague game, London Pulse v Wasps a few weeks ago and it was really sad that we couldn’t go - she was so looking forward to watching Ashleigh Dekker, by far her favourite netballer!

I also had Grand Final tickets - like many, was looking forward to a netball extravaganza, as well as a day out with the netball family away from the stresses and strains of normal family life! (Oh how I long for those stresses and strains now!)

It’s the right decision for netball though and if social media reactions are anything to go by, the netball family are in total agreement. It is my opinion,  and I do have personal experience, that the people who are now at the top of netball in this country have the absolute best interests of our great sport, at the very heart of their decision making.

The decision to make this call must have been excruciating.

I am sure the players themselves will be feeling all kinds of emotions. There will be up and coming players, who’s break out seasons have been cut short, as well as more experienced players who may well have been considering 2020 to be their last.

These athletes cannot continue in limbo though, their physical wellbeing would have been considered at length. Remember netball has evolved, some of them train full time and the physicality and commitment to training is second to none.

There is a reason elite level sport has  ‘cycles’ - allowing athletes to build towards competitions and be at their physical best for those major events.

Social isolation training would have been very challenging on the mind, as well as difficult to modify for a game where working with others is paramount! It’s difficult enough at grass roots!

The actual infrastructure of Superleague teams also varies which would have played its part.

For example I understand there are some franchises that rely on ticket sales to actually put on matches, that would obviously have an impact on playing games without crowds. Venues would have also been a consideration, those within university campus’ may not have anywhere to play, as many unis are closed. Travel would have been another challenge - imagine being in charge of Sirens travel plans during various degrees of lock down guidelines, not to mention the difference between the home nations’ countries!

Just those few considerations (and I am sure there are a lot more - I am by no means an expert!)  are major obstacles in putting on a Superleague Competition as we know it. Our only hope now is a switch to a shorter Autumn competition, mentioned in the official statement. ( https://www.englandnetball.co.uk/vnsl-season-update/ )

My main concern, before the official cancellation this morning, was the impact a stopping of our great game may have on the momentum of netball, as well as wider within women’s sport. Without televised games, social media chatter, newspaper and internet coverage does this mean all the good work done in recent years, will be undone?

The obvious disappointment but positive reaction to the news this morning, the consistent approach by shows such as the Netball Nation podcast and ‘Off the Court’ from Sky, as well as a huge effort from netball fans to keep netball in the social media spotlight, I thankfully, think not!

It is up to the netball family to not only maintain momentum but to build on it. Of course, we are netball, this can and will be done. Anyone betting against us are fools!