Written by Amelia Barnes
Michelle Kneale loves netball, so when she’s not working full time, parenting her six children, or playing the game herself, she can be found inspiring the next generation as a club and representative junior coach.
Recognising her unparalleled dedication to the sport, Netball Victoria recently named Kneale Coach of the Year at its 2022 Community Awards.
Like many parents, Kneale’s coaching journey began when her eldest daughter started playing netball six years ago. “I really enjoyed watching the ladies at the time lead the NetSetGO program and it made me want to jump in there and teach netball as well,” she said.
Kneale became her daughter’s under 9s coach at Laurimar Netball Club in Doreen, where she continues to coach today, most recently in the under 11s and 15/17s divisions.
When Northern Pride Netball Association was established in nearby Mernda in 2018, Kneale jumped at the chance to take on an additional coaching role. She’s been one of the association’s representative coaches ever since, taking on the under 13 firsts representative team in 2022.
These coaching roles collectively add a minimum 15 hours a week to Kneale’s workload, but she won’t have it any other way. “I love it. I absolutely love coaching,” she said. “Just to be able to have that relationship with the kids and their families I think is really special.”
For Kneale, what makes a good junior coach is someone who unites a team. “What's really important is team bonding – making sure the girls respect each other and can have fun with each other and include each other,” she said.
“I try to get everyone around each other, because if you find that divide on the court, you're never going to play a good game.”
This sentiment extends to parents, who play a critical role in shaping players’ attitudes and expectations in the junior years. “I think if everyone supports each other and is able to respect that people do make mistakes, the team is better off,” said Kneale.
To build team camaraderie, Kneale encourages players to develop relationships off the court. In 2022, she helped organise a glow in the dark disco where players were invited to exercise and show their netball skills to disco music.
“As coaches in our rep program, we're always looking for something a little bit out of the box to put a bit of fun back into our coaching session,” said Kneale of the event. “It was great – the players had so much fun.”
In addition to coaching juniors, Kneale takes the opportunity to mentor up and coming coaches wherever possible, empowering them with the confidence and knowledge to teach others.
Her own coaching focuses on mastering the fundamental skills of the game, ensuring junior players have the tools to improve their gamesmanship, physicality, and athleticism as they develop. “I think just getting the little things right when they're young is really important,” she said.
Kneale hopes players see her as approachable and encouraging of their own ideas. “They know that they can talk to me about anything on the court,” she said.
“I love it when they bring their own ideas to me, because it means that they're thinking about their own game and what they can do to make the team better themselves.”
In 2023, Kneale will coach the under 15s representative team for Northern Pride Netball Association, and under 13s at Laurimar Netball Club.
On being named Coach of the Year, Kneale said she was “totally shocked.” Netball is her passion, and she loves every minute she gets to spend playing, coaching, and watching the game.
“I get personal enjoyment out of it because I love seeing the results. I love seeing the kids on the court and I love seeing them happy.”
Kneale says the work she does as a coach is no different to the hundreds of other netball coaches, volunteers, and parents who turn up to their local associations every week.
“There are so many quiet unsung heroes… I'm just extremely lucky I've had someone within my community feel that they wanted to shout out my name somewhere,” said Kneale.
“If it was viable, you’d almost want to give every coach a pat on the back.”
The Coach of the Year Award is supported by HCF
