Hadley Dixon admits there were times when he used to wonder if he should admit to playing netball. He also recalls occasions as a junior when he was asked why he wasn’t playing footy like the other boys.
Because, well, isn’t netball just for girls?
It used to be, perhaps, but a while ago, for there are thriving men’s and mixed competitions all over metropolitan and regional areas. For his part, since 17/U level, Dixon has not just played for the love of it, but for Victoria and Australia, as well.
He no longer feels there is any stigma. Although it was never much of a bother, regardless.
“There were definitely times when you did feel ‘do I tell them, do I not?’,’’ says Dixon, 22, when asked how open and honest he would be in a social environment.
“Particularly when I was also playing footy, because you’d be talking to your footy mates and going ‘oh, I’m going off now to play netball’. That felt a bit weird!
“But generally nowadays I feel comfortable enough telling people I play netball, and I don’t know whether a factor in that is because now I feel like I’ve got some netball accomplishments under my belt.
“I know I can say ‘oh, yeah, I play netball’ and then follow up with ‘I’m playing for Victoria and Australia’. So anyone who is saying ‘oh, why are you playing netball?” is going ‘oh, ok, cool you’re actually good at it. You’re playing sport at a higher level. That’s fine’.’’
Or, put another way, Dixon can laugh that it's a little different to saying he plays netball with his little sister - although that is exactly where this story began.
He was 10 or 11 at the time, spending Saturday mornings with his family at the Lower Templestowe courts. Sister Shenae’s East Doncaster team, coached by mum Bridget, was a player short, and Hadley found himself filling in. Having quickly become a fully-fledged team member, Hadley decided to continue even after moving up an age bracket, and having to leave Shenae - 20 months younger - behind.
His initiation at goal defence had some challenges. “It was hard because you’ve got the whole obstruction rule, which kind of is very unfamiliar to pretty much every other sport, but I remember liking it because it felt like ‘ok, I can actually come out and try and hunt for intercepts' and stuff like that, and that was something I really enjoyed.
“Still enjoy it now. When the ball goes up in the air and you come through for an intercept, it’s one of the best feelings.’’
Into his teens, when boys were no longer eligible to play in girls’-only leagues, a new club was needed. So the Dixons moved to Koonung and a mixed competition at the Boroondara Netball Association and, almost a decade later, Koonung is still home.
While nominally mixed, Hadley was still the only boy in his team in the early days, and is pleased to note how steadily the numbers have grown. An invitation to trial for the state U/17's led to immediate selection, and was a first step on the pathway through to 20/U honours and beyond.
This year, Dixon has again been appointed joint vice-captain of the 23/U Victorian side that will attempt to defend its national title in Adelaide in July. Easter is the usual calendar slot, but Covid caution has pushed things back by three months. Still, anything’s better than 2020, when the carnival had to be shelved altogether.
“One of the things I do like about netball is that you are forced to rely on your teammates,’’ says the midcourter.
“If you’re playing football and you’re so much better than everyone else, you can literally grab the ball, run down the other end of the field and kick a goal, and in basketball you can do the same thing. But in netball you’re forced to rely on your teammates, you can not do everything yourself, and I think it’s one of the best aspects of the game.
“It’s such an enjoyable sport, fast and high-intensity, and I’d fully encourage people to be playing it, because it feels wrong that you can’t play something fun because you’re a guy, or vice-versa in other sports, that you can’t play them because you’re a girl.’’
Dixon, a graduate IT consultant by day, coaches Boroondara Power’s 15.3 rep side, and enjoys both the teaching aspect and the willingness of his young charges to listen and learn. The strong family involvement at Koonung continues, too, with Hadley grateful that being the only boy so frequently was never allowed to become a barrier to taking part.
“So I was able to keep playing through and the team I was playing with were very supportive - I never had any comments from any of my teammates or any of the coaches or the club,'' he says.
"A couple of times I’d get comments on court where you’d go for an intercept and be slightly late and kind of have a big contact occur and then some people would be like ‘oh, why are you going out there and landing on the girls?' and all that sort of stuff.
“But, generally, the whole association has been very supportive and been very clear that ‘we’re a mixed association, we’re supporting guys and girls, and the rules of netball don’t change depending on what gender you are’.’’
Nor does the welcome. Not at Boroondara, anyway. Which is as it should be.
Written by Linda Pearce
