Perhaps the 2006 Netball Victoria Schools Championships was not Tegan Philip’s sliding doors sporting moment, for one suspects her athletic talent was too irresistible to go unrecognised forever.
But it did alter her trajectory. Ability was spotted. Encouragement and invitations followed. Despite not following the traditional development pathway, a brilliant career began.
“It definitely got the ball rolling for me,’’ says the Melbourne Vixens games record-holder and 2014 Commonwealth Games gold medallist.
“I would still like to think they would have found me one way or the other, but it was certainly the big opportunity for me that came out of it. The turning point.’’
Philip, then Tegan Caldwell, was in her fourth year representing Geelong’s Christian College in one of the biggest netball competitions in Australia - involving up to 600 teams annually from more than 200 government, Catholic and independent primary and secondary schools.
(Author’s disclaimer: there is no suggestion, absolutely none, that a day off from the VCE study grind might have been part of the appeal for young Tegan - except if, well, she admits with a laugh that it just possibly might have been).
That day at Waverley, Philip was playing in a modest Year 12 team with a relocated midcourter as her goaling partner.
“So I I was doing lots of shooting, lots of running, and just enjoying it, playing netball with my school friends.’’
Fortuitously, in the audience was then Netball Victoria staffer Nicole Richardson, a former Diamond and now Magpies Assistant Coach who very much liked what she saw.
Richardson asked young Tegan to try out for state teams - the 19/U and 21/Us - for the first time, and also invited her to play for the Hume City Falcons (now the City West Falcons) in the Victorian Netball League (now the Bupa VNL).
The rest is not just history - including a Vixens’ premiership - but ongoing, as Philip continues her 11th (and now final) national league season.
In contrast, the 51st birthday of the Schools Championships is on hold, due to COVID-19. But the sport’s presence in the education system remains multi-faceted, across programming, development and training.
It encompasses facilities partnerships, the State Schools Victoria inter-school competitions at which the likes of Madi Browne first came to notice, tertiary education programs, Sport Australia’s Sporting Schools program, links with Netball Australia’s Teacher Ambassador program, and a collaboration with applied learning education provider SEDA that includes game-day experience with the Vixens.
“We work across schools in a number of different ways, we work across all age groups - primary, secondary and tertiary - as well as other education areas like SEDA, so we’ve got the full range of offerings for all levels,’’ says Netball Victoria’s General Manager, Netball Development, Angela Banbury, who stresses the importance of getting boys involved, too.
"A lot of teams that enter school championships are mixed, or boys’, and we know that school is often the first touch point that kids will have with netball, and then they’ll progress into NetSetGO or they’ll join their friends at their local club.
"Netball is one of those traditional sports in schools, however for our CaLD community, it maybe a sport some kids have never experienced. Therefore we need to ensure everyone gets the opportunity to try our great game. We offer programs in English Language Schools as well as specialist schools for people with a disability. Netball is definitely a sport for everyone and Victorian schools play a major part in ensuring it is."
Community and school partnerships also extend to joint-use facilities - existing and planned - that benefit so many. Education venues are not just home to some of Netball Victoria's largest Associations, but are used for training, and hosting VNL games. Many more developments are planned for both metro and regional areas.
Examples of current partnerships are those between the Waverley and District Netball Association and Ashwood High School, Banyule Nets and Macleod College and a recent affiliate, the Northern Pride Netball Association, that operates at Mernda Central College.
On a smaller scale, St John Vianney’s Primary in Parkdale is still a notable success story, as the reigning Netball Victoria School of the Year. Since 2014, parent, Mary-Ann Calabrese, has driven the growth and success of the netball program for many of the 135 students.
The mother of two has run clinics with class groups and training sessions before and after school, coached players in local Saturday teams and last year organised a boys’ school team for the first time.
The result: winning the Primary Boys’ state title, while the Primary Girls reached the semis after both groups went undefeated through the preliminary rounds.
“For a small school, any success is a big deal, and we’re a very, very close-knit community in this area,’’ says Calabrese.
“Both teams did very very well, and the kids all loved it. Both teams really got to bond; they trained together and trained against each other, so there was some friendly rivalry.
“And I suppose it just opened the school up the fact that even boys could achieve success in netball. My son’s going into grade five next year, and that’s the one thing he’s looking forward to, is trying out for the netball team.”
Philip, meanwhile, is about to come full circle, as she completes the final semester of her Bachelor of Education, and prepares to start teaching health, maths and PE.
Might she also coach the school netball team? Find herself back at the Netball Victoria Schools Championships all these years later?
“It could happen, who knows? Maybe I’ll be the Assistant Coach!’’ says Philip, praising the positive impact of sport in general and netball in particular on students’ lives.
“It’s important that kids are given those opportunities through school, and it’s awesome that there’s these competitions that allow school teams to participate.
“It’s great exposure for the players and great fun for them, as well. It’s an experience that’s outside the classroom, and there’s so much you can learn from playing a team sport.’’
Written by Linda Pearce
Images thanks to the Geelong Advertiser
