Men’s netball is well and truly on the rise and for 14-year-old Victorian Max Major, he has his sights set on one day being selected for the Victorian state team.
“I know some people from my club in the Under 17 state team so I wouldn’t mind making it into that team one day,” he said.
A talented youngster coming through the Victorian pathway, Max has no shortage of talent with his speed and versatility often on show through the midcourt.
“I like to play centre or wing attack and that’s always good fun. I do cross country and running outside of school, so I really enjoy being able to run around and get the ball a lot.”
Running aside, Max loves the variety of positions out on court and the social aspect associated with netball which has enabled him to make new friends.
“I like how there are different zones, not like basketball where you can hog the ball – you can’t really hog in netball, it’s a real team sport.
“Through netball I’ve made lots of friends across both genders, even at school I know people a lot better now because of netball.”
Inspired by his sisters, Max was eager to give netball a try to see if it was something he wanted to pursue in the future.
“My sisters had been playing for years and they had an open day at a domestic club where you could just play fun games against people, so I decided to join in and play a few games,” he said.
“Out of that I found I just really wanted to play, I played domestically and then for the Waverley girls team and now I’m playing in MLeague.”
Having only picked up the sport a couple of years ago, and joining MLeague for the first time this year, Max has really found his groove out on court with his teammates.
“2020 was my first year of netball but ultimately it got interrupted. Our rep team had a WhatsApp group where we would record our exercises or film our workouts and then share them.
“MLeague is a boys competition and I think it’s really good, 15-minute quarters means everyone gets a run. My club Waverley does such a good job at trying to get boys and mixed teams into the league, we already have 12 players and we’re always trying to find more.”
Throughout his journey so far, Max has put his hand up for opportunities including a session run by former Victorian Men’s Mixed Netball Association head coach Guy Keane, to help equip him with all the skills he needs to progress through the netball pathway.
“Earlier this year I did a program that was coached by Guy Keane who has experience as a state and national player and coach, and that was really good at teaching the basics and really improving our skills,” Max said.
“We also played against the Under 17 state team – it was pretty tough but I think we held our own, it was a great experience.”
Places are available for boys aged 11-14 to join MLeague this season. If you want to know more, contact Craig Moore (mleague@vmmna.org | 0402 017 383).
