Northern Pride Netball Association President, Ian Landy is set to add a Westfield Local Hero badge to his name, having been recognised for all the sensational work he has done to assist children of the Plenty Valley in getting involved in the game of netball.
Landy reflected on his community-driven personality and his continual involvement throughout his local sporting ventures and within his local school council.
“I've always tended to be a person who has gotten involved in different community projects, whether that's, you know, a local school council or being involved with my golf club,” said Landy.
“Netball is really just a vehicle for me in terms of being able to give back to my local community.”
Ian formed the association in 2018 due to the lack of competition available for the kids within his community.
“The nearest places to play netball were either in Diamond Creek, down in Bundoora crossing, Craigieburn, or up in Whittlesea, so they were all around us, but there was nothing, you know in this in this spot in the middle,” Landy says.
Since the formation, the association has grown to have more then 400 children participating every Saturday, filling six netball courts, but it did not come without its challenges.
“The biggest challenge was a lack of facilities.
“So, in establishing ourselves, we needed to find somewhere to play, and we needed to find somewhere to play that we could make functional.
“We found our home at Mernda Central College - so a school site, which had six outdoor courts, but it doesn't have any infrastructure at all.”
With no umpire rooms or change rooms, Landy and the association had to switch gears in order to keep the show running.
“We became what you would call a pop-up association.
“So, each week, we come in, and we actually pop up all of our tents. We get out all of our equipment, and we manage and run a competition without, I guess what you might see as your traditional infrastructure.
“Then at the end of our play for the day, we actually pack all that back down again and put it all away until the following week.”
But now Landy is putting all his attention into the association’s future.
“We would love to get to a position where we actually have, you know much better facilities, and we are continuing to work towards that with Netball Victoria’s support.
“We approach every week, week in, week out, with fearlessness and I feel with that idea, you know we love netball, and we think people love coming to netball. So, you know nothing will stop us from doing that.”
Vote for Ian in the Westfield Local Heroes award here: https://netb.al/Westfield
Netball Victoria's Community Awards will open later this year and will celebrate people in the Victorian netball community who go above and beyond for their local association, league, club or team. Keep an eye out on our social channels for details.
