As a Victorian state netball player and Netball Victoria Youth Advisory Committee member, Danny Loats is one of the most knowledgeable people in the Victorian men’s netball game today.
The Melbourne-based player has been pushing the boundaries of the game since he was 11 — when Loats received national media attention campaigning for boys’ equal inclusion in the sport — and remains passionate about improving pathways and accessibility.
Providing these opportunities is among Loats’ priorities in his position on Netball Victoria’s Youth Advisory Committee. This newly established committee is responsible for representing young people’s views, values, ideas, and is a means for sharing issues impacting the sport.
“It's important for young people to have some influence because we are the people who are often the most affected by the policies of Netball Victoria as players, coaches and umpires,” Loats said. “We feel really well supported by Netball Victoria to try and provide this feedback and work on things.”
Loats said pathways to men’s netball have improved since he was a child, but there are plenty of further steps that could benefit players and fans. He would particularly love to see more coverage of the players and games by media and netball bodies; complete integration of the men’s and women’s pathways; a combined men’s and women’s national competition; and more games played between the elite men’s and women’s sides.
Currently there are very few avenues for boys to play netball, especially when between 13 and 17 years of age, except for the Junior MLeague established in 2018 by the Victorian Men’s and Mixed Netball Association (VMMNA) in partnership with Netball Victoria.
“It’s harder to access the pathway if you’re regional however, and the league only runs for about one term a year,’ Loats said. “It’s definitely better than nothing though, and the team of volunteers have done a terrific job to provide that option.”
At the men’s level there is MLeague — Victoria’s premier men’s and mixed netball competition — where Loats plays for the Southern Seahawks in the men’s division. However, this competition is again limited to advanced Victorian players, and runs for only 14 weeks (excluding finals) per year.
One of the newer initiatives Loats is involved in is a male training partner program hosted by the Victorian Netball League’s (VNL) Peninsula Waves team. Under this program, Loats trains with the women's team to the benefit of both parties and their respective skills.
“It’s been awesome, and I think it’s a great step forward for boys and men in the sport to be joining with the Victorian Netball League clubs,” Loats said. “I think it’s been great for the culture of the club, and we learn so much from the female athletes who are nearly always more skilled than us, because they’ve played for so much longer, and they’re smarter, but the guys bring something different as well.”
Given the limited exposure of men to competitive netball play, the return of the Australian Men's & Mixed Netball Association (AMMNA) National Championships after a three-year COVID-19 hiatus was fantastic for the country’s elite men’s players. Loats played across defence and shooting positions in the Victorian Reserve Mens team, who ended the tournament as premiership runners up. “I loved it. It was so unique to have a whole week of just playing netball.”
Bettering opportunities for boys and increasing awareness of the men’s game is especially important in the lead up to the 2032 Brisbane Olympics (where Netball Australia is pushing for the sport’s inaugural inclusion) due the International Olympic Committee's insistence of gender balance. In the meantime, more work needs to be done to entice boys into the sport from a young age by removing social barriers.
“There’s still that stigma that netball is a ‘girls’ sport; that netball is soft; that boys don’t play netball,” Loats said. “Putting forward the great role models that you have in men’s netball — who are terrific athletes at the top level — I think would be inspiring. We’ve recently seen Fox Netball put more men’s netballers on screen and I think that would be great for Netball Victoria to focus on too — that exposure to the athleticism of men’s netball and the character of the players.”
For men interested in getting involved with netball, local mixed competitions are a great place to learn the game as a player or umpire, meet people, and have fun with friends. “I personally think mixed netball is an asset to netball, because there are not a lot of sports that are really successful in the mixed format,” Loats said.
When asked why boys and men should consider playing netball, especially over other popular sports, Loats recalls why he started playing netball in the first place. “I was at school and most of my friends were girls playing netball, and I was stuck playing basketball. There's all this wasteful running and netball just looked so much more fun!”
“It’s so different from so many other sports where you can just have one really dominant player.”
Stay tuned as Loats continues to change the game and advance through the athlete pathway, with the aim of making the Victorian Open Mens team and eventually playing for Australia.
Learn more about the Netball Victoria Youth Advisory Committee.
Learn more about netball opportunities for boys and men via the Victorian Men’s and Mixed Netball Association.
