A month since the last update, though we have been in touch through FaceBook and Twitter! Please follow/like if you haven't already, as these are such good communication channels. Lots been going on, mostly good stuff. Here are some highlights.
PERFORMANCE
Some great results in the last few weeks, across juniors and seniors, with the majority of our teams are looking very well placed for a strong finish in each of the respective leagues. Many teams are unbeaten and U16 and U14, look good so far for nationals qualification, with U12A looking good to qualify for Regional Tournament. Netball Nights are doing well and have games in hand. Our HiFivers, who only started in January are "smashing it" and our U11 playing up into U12 are also unbeaten and getting some crazy scorelines! Fingers crossed these good results continue n some of the senior leagues as well, whilst at the same time a number of our U16 athletes are getting great exposure into senior netball.
INJURIES
We have a number of athletes at various stages of injury (too many to name individually!), some returning strong from major injury, others with minor niggles and some waiting for operations/diagnosis or having to be very patient to manage their return. We wish them all a speedy and sustainable return to the court. Let’s try and make sure we each support their successful return, especially where it is a long road, as we would want the same ourselves.
SAVE THE DATE
Our end of season awards evening is Friday 19th May, please save the date and do your best to attend.
WHY BOTHER PLAYING
It is great to see the smiling faces of the youngsters playing HiFive, and it reminded me to mention this quote in this update. It is a good reminder about why we run the club and why coaches and are so committed! You may have seen the image on Social Media, it says:
“Somewhere behind the athlete you have become and the hours of practices and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back………….play for her.”
As the athletes get older and start their transition from Juniors to Seniors through U14 and U16, the “performance” element of Netball is more obvious and this changes the dynamics. It can create unnecessary tensions in squads and particularly amongst parents and supporters, which is a test for relationships and where respect for each other and trust in the coaches is really important. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes between the various coaches to plan training sessions and squads, manage player development, and deal with any issues that arise. We get new members joining the club, because of its performance focus and the opportunities offered to athletes, which is great and we should make those new members feel welcome.
OUTSIDE CLUB
Netball calendar really busy outside of Club stuff as well. We have had NPL U19, where our youngsters were ball girls, and Yorkshire lost to Wasps. Yorkshire now head to play for 5/6th playoff. SuperLeague season is well underway, with a great profile, and a number of our Premier League players appearing and Maggie coaching Lightning. Georgia Pexton was Vice Captain of U17 at the recent Netball Europe competition, where England (again) were convincing winners. The results of national screening are out today, where a number of our athletes had done brilliantly to be in the mix for a trail. Nat Karkoska and Georgia Pexton were selected to attend Easter and Summer England training camps, and Laura Kelly and Gwyn Wallis selected onto the “potential” group.
National schools competition is coming up this weekend, with our athletes representing GSAL, Gateways, Bradford Grammar and Queen Ethelburga’s. Good luck everyone, let’s show what Yorkshire can do.
CHARITY
We did a bit of a charity collection for Net10 this weekend to contribute to the overall England Netball campaign.
TOUR
Plans for the Australia Tour, most likely for current U14/16, are progressing well, with a parent information meeting planned for this week. Thanks to Louise for organising some fundraising with raffling Easter Eggs.
AGM
We haven't set a date for an AGM this year, largely due to there being absolutely no interest in the previous 2/3 years, however, we will sort something but it maybe for the off season. At that stage, we will again look to get more new faces involved in the running of the Club so that we progress and respond to the changes in the game #netballontherise. In the meantime, it has been useful discussing issues with members recently, and I continue to be interested in feedback about the Club, especially where it is constructive or someone has an idea that they are also prepared to implement! I will try to get along to a Sunday morning or a Tuesday night training to see some of the parents of younger athletes.
FINALLY
my usual thanks to all those who commit time to support the running of this Club, the majority of which is voluntary. I will be the first to admit we don't always get it right, but we do always do our best. It can be a thankless task being a coach or doing admin, but without that commitment from a few people these athletes wouldn't have the opportunities they have to develop and fulfil their potential.
PERFORMANCE
Some great results in the last few weeks, across juniors and seniors, with the majority of our teams are looking very well placed for a strong finish in each of the respective leagues. Many teams are unbeaten and U16 and U14, look good so far for nationals qualification, with U12A looking good to qualify for Regional Tournament. Netball Nights are doing well and have games in hand. Our HiFivers, who only started in January are "smashing it" and our U11 playing up into U12 are also unbeaten and getting some crazy scorelines! Fingers crossed these good results continue n some of the senior leagues as well, whilst at the same time a number of our U16 athletes are getting great exposure into senior netball.
INJURIES
We have a number of athletes at various stages of injury (too many to name individually!), some returning strong from major injury, others with minor niggles and some waiting for operations/diagnosis or having to be very patient to manage their return. We wish them all a speedy and sustainable return to the court. Let’s try and make sure we each support their successful return, especially where it is a long road, as we would want the same ourselves.
SAVE THE DATE
Our end of season awards evening is Friday 19th May, please save the date and do your best to attend.
WHY BOTHER PLAYING
It is great to see the smiling faces of the youngsters playing HiFive, and it reminded me to mention this quote in this update. It is a good reminder about why we run the club and why coaches and are so committed! You may have seen the image on Social Media, it says:
“Somewhere behind the athlete you have become and the hours of practices and the coaches who have pushed you is a little girl who fell in love with the game and never looked back………….play for her.”
As the athletes get older and start their transition from Juniors to Seniors through U14 and U16, the “performance” element of Netball is more obvious and this changes the dynamics. It can create unnecessary tensions in squads and particularly amongst parents and supporters, which is a test for relationships and where respect for each other and trust in the coaches is really important. There is a lot that goes on behind the scenes between the various coaches to plan training sessions and squads, manage player development, and deal with any issues that arise. We get new members joining the club, because of its performance focus and the opportunities offered to athletes, which is great and we should make those new members feel welcome.
OUTSIDE CLUB
Netball calendar really busy outside of Club stuff as well. We have had NPL U19, where our youngsters were ball girls, and Yorkshire lost to Wasps. Yorkshire now head to play for 5/6th playoff. SuperLeague season is well underway, with a great profile, and a number of our Premier League players appearing and Maggie coaching Lightning. Georgia Pexton was Vice Captain of U17 at the recent Netball Europe competition, where England (again) were convincing winners. The results of national screening are out today, where a number of our athletes had done brilliantly to be in the mix for a trail. Nat Karkoska and Georgia Pexton were selected to attend Easter and Summer England training camps, and Laura Kelly and Gwyn Wallis selected onto the “potential” group.
National schools competition is coming up this weekend, with our athletes representing GSAL, Gateways, Bradford Grammar and Queen Ethelburga’s. Good luck everyone, let’s show what Yorkshire can do.
CHARITY
We did a bit of a charity collection for Net10 this weekend to contribute to the overall England Netball campaign.
TOUR
Plans for the Australia Tour, most likely for current U14/16, are progressing well, with a parent information meeting planned for this week. Thanks to Louise for organising some fundraising with raffling Easter Eggs.
AGM
We haven't set a date for an AGM this year, largely due to there being absolutely no interest in the previous 2/3 years, however, we will sort something but it maybe for the off season. At that stage, we will again look to get more new faces involved in the running of the Club so that we progress and respond to the changes in the game #netballontherise. In the meantime, it has been useful discussing issues with members recently, and I continue to be interested in feedback about the Club, especially where it is constructive or someone has an idea that they are also prepared to implement! I will try to get along to a Sunday morning or a Tuesday night training to see some of the parents of younger athletes.
FINALLY
my usual thanks to all those who commit time to support the running of this Club, the majority of which is voluntary. I will be the first to admit we don't always get it right, but we do always do our best. It can be a thankless task being a coach or doing admin, but without that commitment from a few people these athletes wouldn't have the opportunities they have to develop and fulfil their potential.
