At the top of the Leopold Football Netball Club’s shopping list, courtesy of its $500 prize as joint winner with the bayside Minties N.C. of Netball Victoria’s NetSetGo Centre of the Year Award presented by Cadbury Fundraising, is a much needed piece of equipment.
Out: old shopping trolleys. In: a practical new cart for balls, goals and bibs.
“So hopefully we can provide the club with something like that, which would be great recognition, and very well utilised,’’ says Leopold’s NSG co-ordinator Simone Connolly, whose centre was one of the few in the Barwon region to run a term four program for the littlest netballers of all.
At Leopold, just outside Geelong, Netball Victoria’s popular programs are tweaked to suit the ability and progress of the participants, whose number has tripled from 20 to more than 60 during the past three years.
“We just put down the growth to us being a great club, a family-orientated club, lots of fun, and the senior players come and volunteer and they’re part of the NetSetGo coaching group, which is a really great thing for the club,’’ says Connolly.
“I think word of mouth has just gotten around and we’ve been overwhelmed!’’
In a typical year, Leopold’s program would start in April; the onset of Covid-19 meant that registrations were not even completed when restrictions were first imposed around the state in March.
“Then we thought the light was coming for term three, but that wasn’t the case, so we just jumped at the opportunity for October and followed all the protocols and things like that,’’ says Connolly.
“We already had a bit of interest and a few of the parents were asking if it would be run and I was like ‘you know what? Let’s just do it’.
“It was just so good to see the kids and their faces, and be out there making friends and having fun again, and the support from the community was just unreal.
“But even the parents who stay and watch the kids - it’s good for them just to be able to have a conversation with an adult and not be cooped up at home. To see them interact as well with one another is just lovely. Our facilities are good, but the community’s even better.’’
Volunteers include juniors from the 13-and-unders and the 15s, and even a single helper from the 11s, who are paired with adults in a buddy system that serves the dual purpose of helping to prepare the youngsters for future team coaching duties.
The fact it was a resounding success was confirmed at the presentation night on December 16th. “They were like ‘I’m coming back next year, I absolutely love it’, and they’re getting something out of it without knowing it.,’’ says Connolly.
“In a couple of years they’ll be able to coach a junior side, and they’re teaching five and six year olds the same skills that they learnt, the same way.’’ (ie. consistency of message, imparted early.)
There is a similar development philosophy and collegiate approach at Mini Minties in Sandringham. Numbers have been capped at 40 due to limited courts, with a lengthy waiting list further evidence of the program’s popularity.
And if the coronavirus cruelly interrupted the best-laid plans, twice, in 2020, then it ultimately did not scuttle them altogether.
While the first attempt ended after five sessions, and mid-year reopening of junior community sport lasted just one week, then the relative freedoms of term four provided for a Mini Minties program involving children in their final NetSetGo year in order to prepare them for 11-and-under competition in 2021.
“Our registrations are open for next year and we’ve decided we’re not going to have a wait list any more,’’ says head coach and membership manager Amanda Adams, whose 18-year-old daughter Lily, a new SEDA graduate, heads up Minties NetSetGo.
“If we have 60 players register, well, we’ll find a way to get all 60 on the court, so we’re speaking to some of the local high schools around using their courts and just trying to be a little bit more diverse in offering the program. So if we get 60, or 80, then we’ll offer it. But maybe don’t quote me on that!’’
Oops, too late, but always best to aim high. And Adams believes one reason the numbers have doubled in its two-year history to make Minties’ program already the largest in the City of Bayside is because of the efforts made to keep engaging an age group not known for its lengthy attention span.
“In most NSG centres you come along, you have a set coach and a set team and you just learn skills, and we were getting feedback from the community that they wanted something different, and the kids were a bit bored,’’ says Adams senior.
“Participants start off in a friendship group, then as we progress through the program we put them into different groups each week - this allows us to teach the kids that playing a team may not always be about playing with friends, but it’s about getting to know new people as well.
“We teach the skills and and use the plans from within the NetSetGo program. Where our program differs is that each group spends 15 minutes doing one drill, and then they rotate to the next station, where there’s a different coach and so on, and then in the last 15 minutes they play a game. So there’s a lot of variety, and we’ve experimented a lot with that over the couple of years.’’
With two coaches at each station - one senior, and one first-year - it is much like Leopold in that the foundations are taught during the first steps along the pathway. As well as buying some new equipment with their $500 prize, Minties will also put several club members through Netball Victoria’s junior coaching course.
Inclusivity is another focus, with two of the three boys who joined in 2020 planning to graduate to the 11/U level and two more having enjoyed a brief taste of NetSetGo pre-lockdown.
“People would come with their daughters to play and they would have their son there, and we would literally just say ‘well, does he want to join in? Have a go. Have a go for a couple of weeks, and if he likes it then he can join’,’’ says Adams.
“Then his mate wanted to join, and so on. So we’re trying to really push the male participation component.’’
Lily Adams remained in touch with all NetSetGo families when organised sport was on hold, providing information on rules and practice activities, etc, while skills and drills were posted on the club’s FaceBook page until the Covid crisis eased and face-to-face connection resumed.
“At Minties we’re very passionate about kids having that sense of community, that sense of belonging to something other than just school and friends, and that’s part of our club’s culture, so we wanted to make sure they still had that,’’ says Amanda Adams.
“We were unsure what that first day back in term four was going to look like, but the excitement and sense of belonging was amazing. Everyone came back together into the community and were happy to be there, and I think we had more fun because you value things a little bit more.’’
Written by Linda Pearce
