netball

In my own personal netballing calendar, the season starts today! Its the first training session of the season this evening and I am quite looking forward to it. I’ve updated the Shipley Netball Website with functionality to record results as well as fixtures.

It will be great to see the friends I haven’t seen all summer – and to be reunited with my award which is still in the loving care of Janet.

I’ll be playing this season with most of the same people as last year and for the first time in 5 years I’ll be playing with the same team two seasons in a row, which will be something great in itself. There are some team changes and some league changes all to look forward to and I’m sure plenty of blood, sweat and tears as well. Happy New Year :)

Last night was the netball awards night, I took the present for my coach and prepared for a night out with the girls. What I wasn’t prepared for was actually winning something! I’m Shipley Netball Club’s “Most Promising Newcomer”, which is a fantastic honour and I’m very very excited to have won!

The award is a glass with a wooden stand … as I was out for a few drinks afterwards its in the care of Janet at the moment so I shall post photographs when I reclaim it!

Its the end of the netball season and I’ve been trying to think of a gift for my coach who has been fantastic this season. With my usual comic timing, I decided yesterday that a new stopwatch with a countdown feature would be a good present for a sports coach.

Its not very personal, though, is it? So I’ve made it a cosy:

And since I’m an engineer, I’ve also photographed the alternative setup which allows the cosy to be stored buttoned onto the string while the stopwatch is in use.

Happy end-of-season, Lynda, thanks for everything!

Well its been a couple of exciting weeks in the netball world, or rather exciting weekends as that’s when we usually play.

Two weeks ago I played two matches in one day. The first, for the second team, I played a whole match, we won, and it was generally good all round. I then had a three-hour wait with my packed lunch for the next match to start. It would have been tedious but I ran into the one other person I know that plays in the West Yorkshire league (a school friend) so I watched her match and then we updated each other on the gossip for mutual friends. The second match was a bit of a let-down as I didn’t get on court and my team lost.

On the plus side I learned to keep shooting statistics for the shooters! I have no idea how I came this far without knowing this but it was interesting all the same. You draw a circle each time they shoot and then put a line through it diagonally if the shot scores a goal. At the end you can count the total shots and goals and tell them their statistics. More than 80% is good (here in the Northern Hemisphere it is anyway!)

The weekend just gone was another two-matcher. The timing was bad as I just got my Nintendo Wii and didn’t really want to be separated from it. Saturday I played with the seconds and we lost … bit of a violent match as the umpires were on the quiet side and both teams were not afraid of throwing their weight around. I took a kick to one of my knees which is quite sore now! Sunday was an away match in Warrington, nice team but again we lost (are you spotting the pattern yet??). On a personal level though it was a victory as someone else couldn’t play so I got on court for the whole match and I don’t think I disgraced myself.

All in all its been a good couple of weeks, the main downside is that my dress has been washed so often that its going a bit baggy and getting shorter. Unless I’m getting taller and thinner which seems unlikely! We’re almost at the end of the season now with just one fixture next weekend, a funny play-two-matches-on-the-same-day arrangement which we’re putting out a team of whoever wants to play. Should be fun :)

There’s netball on TV! OK, so its on sky sports so I’m not sure how I’m going to be able to watch it, but at least its on. Sky are televising this year’s superleague (the star teams from the 7 regions plus a welsh team), which is fabulous news.

The news story is here

Well its been a busy couple of weeks on the netball front, we’ve had friendly matches against a variety of teams midweek which have been fun, and since last week was half-term we have “club night” at training where everyone from all the teams plays at the same time, just taking turns playing games.

I always enjoy open club night; usually I’m playing for the first team so it can be pressurised at matches and we’re quite serious about training sessions too. The other teams in the club are more recreational – people do it because they get along with the other women, its fun and its exercise. Club night means I remember that netball is supposed to be fun!

Last weekend the second team were struggling for players as they’ve got a few out with injury at the moment – they’ve been quite unlucky – so I filled in. I played three quarters of the game (which they won – yay!) and thoroughly enjoyed myself. The only downside really was that I ended up covered in scratches as my opponent seemed to manage to avoid the umpires doing the nail check before the game. Scratches are one thing and they’re nearly mended but I’ve got a gouge missing out of the back of my hand – right across a knuckle – which is going to take ages to heal as every time I clench my fist I pop the wound open again – ick.