Memory Monday - Netball

When I was a young girl, many moons ago, I absolutely loved sport. I couldn't get enough of netball and rounders at primary school and when I got to secondary school at the grand old age of 12, it wasn't just netball and rounders but tennis and hockey too.

At primary school, there was a bit of a 'personality' clash between the netball coach, who was the class 5 teacher and myself! She didn't like me much and I can't say I cared for her ways a great deal either. She was the only teacher in my 6 years at the school that I didn't get along with, but unfortunately for me, I needed her to want to put me in the team.

It was her usual way to only play girls in their last two years of school in the actual matches, but we were encouraged to attend training during the year before this, to get us up to scratch I guess. Not only did I never miss a training session, but I attended each and every match that the team played, every single one.

She always maintained that until the last two years we had neither the skill nor the knowledge to be effective within the team. The thing was, I knew I was good enough to rightfully earn my place on the team, and the rest of the girls knew it too. I think even the teacher knew it, but she didn't want to have to bend her rules for me, a girl that was too full of energy for her own good, a girl that she didn't get along with, a girl that had so much love and passion for the game that her continued and ongoing refusal to play me left me frustrated to the point where I would have a bit of a sulk and she would know in no uncertain terms that I was well and truly pissed about it!! I swear she liked the power.

I would spend all my breaks with a netball in my hand, practising shooting. From under the post, from the outside edge of the shooting area and from many different spots in between. I just totally loved it. I knew that practice would improve the natural ability I seemed to possess for the game, and I SOOOOOOO wanted to be in the team, I actually believed that eventually Miss X would include me in the starting line-up for a match against another school.

One particular day, the team was short of one player, due to illness I believe. I jumped up and down with excitement whilst Miss X was trying to figure out who the hell she was going to play to make up the 7 players required.

"I'll play, I'll play. Let me play, pleasssseeeee" I said, not holding out much hope.

"Go on" said the rest of the girls, "She's really good and we are a shooter down"

Miss X had little choice. She needed 7 players to start the game and she only had 6. There were a couple of other subs there but they had only been playing for a couple of weeks and were no-where near match ready.

Begrudgingly the teacher said to me "OK, it looks like you will have to play. This is a one-off and I'm only playing you today because we are short. I'm putting you in at goal shooter 'cos you're not big enough to play anywhere else. Listen. Do your best. Create space, then run into it. Think about your footwork, and take your time with the shot"

YES, YES, YES! I was in.

I remember thinking to myself "...not big enough to play anywhere else? I bet I could run rings round you dear. . . Create space then run into it? Yes, yes I know all that, lets just get this show on the road lady. I am gonna play so damn well you won't possibly be able to drop me next week and I will have earned my regular place on the team!!"

So I did.

I ran my little white frilly socks off. Yes I was small, but that was, then and forever after, an advantage to our team. By default, the biggest, tallest girls were always put in defence, and I was so small that I could run in front of them or behind them by ducking under their arms instead of running around them. I was small and nimble, they were tall and less agile. It made a big difference. I scored 4 goals that game and we trashed the visiting schools team. Even Miss X told me afterwards that I had played a very good game and that she hadn't realised "just how much potential I had"

I took that to mean "well done girl, I hate to admit it, but your good" and went home with a huge smile on my face that day.

The next week, I was an automatic selection to play. I had come of age, in Miss X's eyes at least. She had accepted me, just, begrudgingly, and unwillingly to a certain degree, but I had won her round.

It was so often the case that when we had a match, whether it be at home or away, the coach of the opposing team, and sometimes even the odd player or two, would look at me with an "awww, she's so small and so sweet" and when they realised I was actually playing, and worse than that, that I was the goal shooter, you could almost read their faces, wondering how the heck I stood a chance against the bigger, stronger girls.

Again, I reckon this worked in my favour. No-one ever saw me as a threat. I may have been little for my age then, but what I lacked in height, I made up for in enthusiasm and passion 10 times over.

I continued to play as a fully fledged member of the team for the rest of that year and the two academic years which followed, before I left the school and moved onto secondary.

In my final year at primary, our school won the County Netball Tournament and had our picture in the local paper. It was one of those chest busting proud moments you remember forever.


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