

I don’t remember why I so desperately wanted to play netball as a child. Maybe it was watching the state women’s teams play on the ABC with my Nan on a Saturday afternoon, or maybe it was because my best friend had moved schools and I was a bit lonely. But I couldn’t go past it.
My mum wasn’t so keen. She thought it would be too competitive and expensive and time-consuming. But I persevered and eventually convinced her to let me check out the local team.
In the end, I wasn’t the only one in the family who got into it. Mum loved to watch us play, and became our team photographer, darting around the outside of the court, catching all the action.

Neither of us could have predicted how much of an impact the sport would have, but that’s one thing I certainly learned from all my years playing; team sports will always teach you something.
And not just on the court.
1. Winning is absolutely awesome, but it is not everything.
My first netball team wore a hideous brown skirt, lime green polo and white bibs with brown lettering. It looked like someone used their 1960s wallpaper as inspiration. We were a bunch of kids who’d never played before and some of us had never even owned a ball. We looked out of place, felt out of place and had nothing to rely on apart from our camaraderie. For the first half of our first season we didn’t even score a single goal. Not. One.
Then, one day three quarters deep and about 16 points behind, our GS took aim and the ball hovered a bit on the ring before tipping in. Not out, like every other time, but in. We celebrated so hard, the other team thought we had misunderstood what had happened.
Top Comments
I wish my own netball experiences had been as positive.
As much as I loved being a part of a team, having fun and trying my hardest, there was enough negative culture in the game that I grew to hate it.
Some people never quite grow out of that schoolyard mentality. They used the game to have their little power trips: from the sneaky elbow to the ribs on the court, to parent coaches deciding who get to play and who wins player of the match/encouragement based on who's in their friend circle rather than actual gameplay.
I tried to play again later as an adult. Not only were some people STILL stuck in that mindset, but my body was not up for the challenge.
I had some great times, including out club's annual car rallies and presentation night discos, but I've lost any passion I had for the game itself.