#9 Ones to watch

With the countdown to the World Cup well & truly on, I thought it was about time we cast an eye over  the players to watch!

Here’s my attempt at predicting the hot shots who will become World Cup heroes in 2019 & beyond!

 🇯🇲 Shamera Stirling: Regular viewers of the Vitality Superleague will know about Stirling’s athleticism and elevation from her time at Loughborough Lightning. Who knew she’d step it up at least two gears in her debut season in Suncorp Super Netball with Adelaide Thunderbirds!? She has the potential to be THE stand out defender of the tournament and leave her mark on global netball. If she can have a quiet one against the Roses though I am sure we will all be grateful!

🇳🇿 Maria Falou: the experienced GA is pivotal to the Silver Ferns as they look to regroup under the guidance of Noelene Taurua. Maria has been a classy player for years but the added pressure of the New Zealand fans expectations and her husband’s controversial off court antics in the lead up to the World Cup, will shine the spotlight on her more than ever. Don’t bet against her rising to the occasion!

🇿🇦 Renske Stoltz: I had the absolute pleasure of watching her at Fast Fives in 2017. She isn’t likely to make Norma Plummer’s starting line up so you may be asking why I’ve got her down as one to watch! She has the potential to be a game changer - if she comes off the bench and has an effect like I think she can, anything can happen, for her and the SA squad.

🇦🇺 Grettel Tippett: I LOVE watching Tippet play for the Queensland Thunderbirds in Suncorp Supernetball - it’s her unorthodox approach and basketball-style lay ups that excite the crowd! Defenders just have no idea what she is going to do next! I suspect it would be tough to keep that approach when the Diamonds play a certain style, but she’s stayed true to her roots and reaped the rewards with a spot in the Diamonds 12. It will be between her & Steph Wood for the GA bib in the starting line up but i’d start with Tippett: I love a maverick!

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Fran Williams: she only made her international debut last year but the 21 year old defender has already put her hand up for a place in the starting line up with a stand out season for Vitality Superleague finalists Wasps. Opponents won’t know enough about her to adapt their style and she has absolutely nothing to lose when she takes the court - makes for an exciting World Cup for Williams and it will be interesting to see if she’s still based in the UK for the 2019/2020 season!

 🇹🇹 Sam Wallace: whilst the Calypso Girls from Trinidad & Tobago are not expected to compete for the top spots, netball fans should keep a close eye on shooter Sam Wallace, currently having a stand out season for Suncorp Super Netball league leaders NSW Swifts. Her accuracy (96% against Giants!) is phenomenal but it’s her ‘no nonsense’ approach that excites me and will be a fabulous example to watching youngsters.

🇦🇺 Jamie Lee Price: a lot has been made of the selection of Price in the final Diamonds 12, particularly in her home nation, as she is expected to play WD for the defending champs whilst she has featured mainly at C for Giants in the Suncorp Super Netball League. As much as I would have loved to have seen Ash Brazill in Liverpool (seen by many as too hastily overlooked for that Yellow WD bib) Lisa Alexander will know what she is doing & hopefully we will see what she does, when Price  takes to the M&S arena court!

 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Emma Barrie: at just 17 years old Barrie is an exciting prospect for Scotland Netball.  She has been given the opportunity to compete at the 2019 World Cup and potentially gain her first Cap, after getting the nod  Superleague side Sirens, following Cat Tuiviti’s pregnancy announcement. I am really looking forward to her debut and following her career - it has the potential to be really exciting!

🇿🇦 Karla Pretorious: Wowsers, the Goal Defence has made 7/8 Suncorp Super Netball Net Points ‘Team of the Week’ line ups at the time of writing! She is in phenomenal form heading into the World Cup and will reap the rewards of playing with compatriot Phumza Maweni at Sunshine Coast Lightning. Playing with world class performers like New Zealand’s Laura Langman, week in week out, wouldn’t be doing her any harm at all!

I’m looking forward to revisiting this blog and assess the success (of the players and my predictions!) after the World Cup is all over!

#8 Let’s hear it for the Pivoteers!

As we creep closer and closer to that much anticipated opening ceremony it’s easy to forget the sheer enormity of putting on an event of this size.

I believe the actual bid to host the World Cup was submitted 6 years ago and a hell of a lot of work would have been put in to that bid, before Liverpool was even given the green light! There will be hundreds of people ‘behind the scenes’ who have gotten us to this point and can proudly say ‘yes, I had a part in that’ and I take my hat off to them!

Unless you’ve been involved in event organisation of this magnitude I doubt you can fully comprehend the sheer amount of work and effort put in to make it a success. I find organising local tournaments for 10+ teams stressful! You can never please all the people all of the time!

No doubt there will have been blips along the way - occasional errors of judgement in recruitment, keys locked in vans and the odd website melt down but actually 90,000 tickets sold and ticket sales exceeding all expectations, tells its own story!

You also have the people behind the teams - those 16 nations don’t just hop on a plane, rock up at the M&S arena for their first match with everything falling into place at the last minute! It will take months of meticulous planning to get everything just right and that’s before you start on the specifics for the players and coaching teams!

The real heroes of course are the ‘Pivoteers’ - the name given to the volunteers who will be selling programmes, directing crowds, flag waving and acting as ball girls at the World Cup. What an honour to be chosen and I hope every single one of them will have the best experience possible, their selfless act of volunteering surely deserves it.

I had the honour of leading a group of young volunteers at the World Netball Series (pre Fast 5s!)  in Liverpool in 2010. They were awesome and an absolute credit to the college I was working for,  at the time. It’s worth bearing in mind that they paid for their own accommodation, food and drink for the tournament and were never guaranteed watching any of the matches. They did have an amazing experience and memories that will last forever, I’m sure  will be no different for the Pivoteers!

For me though, these volunteers should be called Pivotals! As with all Netball, up and down the country, the game  doesn’t happen without extraordinary volunteers.

So, if you’re heading up to Liverpool (and from feedback I know a lot of you are!) please take a moment to show your appreciation. Whether it’s a high five or a simple thank you, those Pivoteers are pivotal to the event and it couldn’t be done without them!

#7 Legends! 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 V 🌍

Approximately 2 years ago I had a conversation with a Netball ‘big wig’ about the idea of a ‘legends’ exhibition match at the World Cup! As far as I know it wasn’t taken any further, although I like to think it was the starting point for the ‘celeb’ match recently announced with Jennifer Saunders and Oti Mabusi captaining!

But, just for fun and for me to scratch an itch that’s been irritating me for a few years now! Here’s my ‘dream’ line up for England Legends v The Rest of the World!

We’ll start with England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

GK Tracey Horton: Easy one for me, she was ‘home grown’ as she was from Portsmouth & played for my club, Meon. Her mum was my first Coach! Tracey indirectly gave me a glimpse into the world of elite netball, when I wasn’t quite a teenager and the sacrifices you have to make to reach the top!

GD Kendra Lowe (Slawinski) THE England Captain, led by example and was everything you wanted to be as an impressionable young Netballer!

WD Fiona Murtagh If I remember correctly she was one of the first England Netballers to go across to play in Australia. A few years later I remember being in my debut season in Open county squad and Essex Met were in our group at Inter counties - my devastation when she was ‘rested’ against us still scars me to this day!

C Olivia Murphy / Karen Atkinson No I can’t choose between them and as it’s my dream team I don’t have to lol! Both classy mid courters, more than that, they were fab examples to watching youngsters . They have both gone on to be awesome coaches in their own right. Karen was on my UKCC Level 3 course and it was an absolute pleasure to be in her company.

WA Lucia Sdao As a  young ‘baller I was always impressed with her flair and creativity. England always had it tough against Australia and New Zealand in this era but she never ever gave up.

GA Tracey Neville No brainer! I hope she won’t mind me saying but Tracy carried a bit more weight in her days representing England - but it made me adore her more! I was a GA and let’s just say I wasn’t a skinny teenager. I remember being a young coach and attending a ‘how to select’ course and having a pretty heated argument with a more experienced coach about Tracy’s merits on an England court. I think I won! 😉

GS Lorraine Law I won’t lie the GS bib  was the one I struggled with most! In recent years England have had some shooting superstars - perhaps that’s more to do with the digital age and the rise of social media. I remember Lorraine being a target GS who had to work hard to get the ball despite her height. She was unassuming but not to be underestimated.

Subs: Amanda Newton and Sonia Mkloma we’re both lethal in circle defence, ‘tenacious’  doesn’t do either  of them justice! Sue Collins, never had the actual pleasure to see Sue play, as just before my time, but her reputation as a midfield dynamo earns her a place on my bench! Pamela Cookey: an ambassador of netball both on and off the court, I was personally devastated not to see her play at the Glasgow Commonwealth games because of injury. She was always awesome for Team Bath & Surrey Storm. Lynn Carpenter: Happy to be corrected but I remember Lynn coming into the England squad at a later stage of her netball journey. Always dignified and respectful.

Coach: Anna Mayes / Stenbridge First English Coach for a number of years. Her tenure was cut short far too soon.

Rest of the World! 🌍

GK Liz Ellis. For me, legend status is bandied around far too much in society these days let alone in sport, specifically netball! Liz Ellis is pure class and absolutely deserves the title of LEGEND! I was  privileged to see her play and despite her Aussie status I always wanted her to play her absolute best - she always did!

GD Mon’ia Gerrard. Another Aussie! I had the pleasure of seeing her play for Sydney Swifts (now defunct) in the early 2000’s. It may have even been her debut as she played WD in that game. Her
elevation was incredible and her interceptions took my breathe away. She was everything an Aussie
Diamond should be!


WD Sharon Layton. Yes I know she was predominantly GK but how can you have a World Legends team without her?!? It’s not like I can drop Liz Ellis lol! 😂 Sharni has done so much for netball off and on the court she is the ultimate netball trailblazer! Long may she continue!

C Temepara Bailey. The Silver Fern earned 89 Caps for her country and was always a force to be reckoned with. Opponents would have feared her. .

WA Liana Leota. I reckon she could still do a job for the Silver Ferns! Her timing, her vision and her feeding all sublime and still rocking it in the Vitality Superleague!

GA Mary Waya. The Malawian was an absolute star. I was spoilt for choice here, Silver Fern Belinda Colling and Aussies Sharelle McMahon and Nat Medhurst were / are absolute phenomenal GAs! But I  was in awe of Mary Waya at the World Series in Liverpool in 2010 and that’s why she gets the nod! She was in her early 40s at the time but her flair, passion and ability to entertain the crowd were phenomenal. She made that tournament.

GS Irene Van Dyke. See above re: LEGEND status! I remember Irene Van Dyke playing for South Africa before she made the switch to NZ! Yes she had height which she made very good use of, but she had far more than that to her game! Pretty sure she was still playing ANZ into her 40s. I always remember her playing with a smile on her face!

Subs: Cat Latu / Tuiviti Simple. There is no other GS like her! She should have more CAPs for NZ. I was gutted not to see her play for Sirens v Storm last season, but obviously delighted when she announced, a few weeks later, why! Belinda Colling, another Silver Fern with impeccable pedigree. Sharelle McMann, possibly the best GA of all time. I LOVE her attitude. She is the ultimate Aussie! Nat Medhurst, crying shame her Diamonds career seems to have been shorter than most would have liked! I love her ability to mix it up and play with all different styles of shooters. Nadine Bryan, not a ‘household name’ as we know Jamaican players to be now, Nadine wasn’t the tallest midcourter but she is Jamaica’s highest capped international.

A very attack minded bench! But it’s my dream team, we’d have no injuries!

Coach: Norma Plummer. There are players who would not be called ‘world class’ without Norma Plummer. That’s a big accolade!

So, who have I missed? Who was, perhaps, before my time and deserves a spot in one of the teams? Who’d be in your Legends dream team!?!

#6 Predictions

I love a prediction - I do it all the time in Vitality Superleague and Suncorp Super Netball, but here’s the thing......I am absolutely RUBBISH at it!

So, you may well ask, why am I writing a World Cup themed blog entitled ‘predictions’?!

My answer is: you can predict more than just results!

So, here’s my World Cup netball predictions, some are light hearted and not to be taken too seriously, some are sad but inevitable in elite sport and some are just me trying to take an educated guess at what may pan out at the most exciting international netball tournament..........ever!

👩🏼‍⚕️ There will be a serious injury and it’s likely to be an ACL. It seems not a week goes by in the Suncorp Super Netball where we don’t have an ACL or suspected ACL injury. It’s an all too common netball injury that clearly needs more research, not just for elite players! (Yes,  I’m nearing the end of my rehab after 2.5 years. No, I’m afraid my right knee will never be the same again 😢)

🇯🇲 Jamaica will cause a big upset. They are the team that is the most unknown. They have a very different style and they will be ‘up for it’ big time after losing to the eventual winners 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿🌹 by just 1 goal in the Commonwealth Semi Final. You can argue that all of the ‘Big 5’ have a point to prove, but none more so than Jamaica.
                                          

🍾 I will get drunk. I’m away for 4 nights. An overnighter for the opening ceremony and then the whole of finals weekend. I’m away from the kids with my bestest girlie friends, which also includes the women who taught me to play netball. It is bound to get messy. I will try not to blog when I’ve had more than one glass of wine. (I’m out of practice these days and it doesn’t take a lot for me to get     merry!)

🔴 There will be a controversial sending off. The game is physical and elite players more athletic and stronger than ever before. It’s inevitable. Then there will be a huge postmortem on whether the sending off will have an impact on the standings of the whole competition. It will be a big talking point!

😳 I will be asked if I’m ‘NetballCoachNow’. It happened at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow and I’ve tweeted more and got more followers since then!

It’s one of the things I am looking forward to most, the netball family coming together, catching up with people I haven’t seen for ages or haven’t met at all, other than online!

#5 Don’t get me started on pregnancy & coaching!

I’m not sure the dust has settled on the shock news that Roses 🌹 Head Coach Tracey Neville will be standing down after the World Cup. I’m not sure it ever will, to be honest! 

Due to experience, this an emotive subject for me and one I have some very firm views on. I committed to writing this blog for the World Cup though and I won’t shirk away just because I’m emotional! 

I do pride myself on seeing all different points of view as I hope I’ve demonstrated in other blogs.

There’s been lots of opinions about the timing of the announcement, with heaps of netball commentators, far more qualified than me, having an opinion about it! 

Aussie great Liz Ellis and Netball Nation’s (still my fave netball podcast!) Sara Bayman are of the opinion that it was the wrong time to announce it and now the narrative will be around ‘England need to win it for Tracey’ as well as the search for her successor - detracting from the squad and their achievements at the World Cup. 

Others feel that’s its a brave decision and gives the governing body time to find the right person to take over. (Lets be honest, they are BIG shoes to fill!) 

According to BBC Essex Sport Twitter feed Roses GS Jo Harten thinks it gives the team even more motivation to win gold. 

I wonder if some consideration has also been given to the ‘leaks’ of late? There could be a risk that if a successor was being sought on the quiet, then the media could get hold of it and there would have been no control over the timing of the announcement or what was said. (Read my ‘Be Careful what you wish for blog 😉 !) 

For me there is a bigger issue and before we get into it - let’s  just remind ourselves that we really don’t know what’s been said by whom, where, when and if! We’ll probably never know. We also must respect the decision. It wouldn’t have been easy to make. 

In Tracey Neville’s Sky Sports interview she says 

“Over the last few months I have sat down with England Netball to look at how I could fulfil my role whilst taking into consideration my personal circumstances. My ambition to have a family is something I want to commit to after the Vitality Netball World Cup.”

It saddens me that a women in 2019, at the top of her game can be honest about her intentions to commit to both her career and family, but still the outcome is that she leaves the role she is has been so successful in. It doesn’t matter what line of work she’s in or what industry - it’s still, in my opinion, immensely unfair. 

From an equality point of view if a male coach had won the Commonwealth 🥇  last year was open about potentially starting a family, would this even be an issue? 

It makes my blood boil. 

I’m all for choice and know, first hand, the sacrifices made to coach full time and have a family. I’ve actually made both decisions on the flip side of the coin. To continue coaching  full time after I had my first daughter and, after a lot of soul searching, eventually deciding not to stay on full time after
my second. Both decisions caused a lot of heartache and I am still, to this day, not convinced either one were right! (Depends what mood you catch me in too!)

I was ‘only’ coaching at grass roots level - different kind of pressure altogether at elite level! 

Female Coaches Network and Project 500, a campaign to inspire and support women into sports coaching, based in South East UK, used Tracey Neville’s announcement as part of their regular #womenswednesday social media question. The  responses and advice were clear: organisational culture is a major factor in changing opinions on pregnancy and bringing up a family whilst working in sport. https://femalecoachingnetwork.com/2019/06/04/womenswednesday-choosing-family-elite-coaching-something-female-coaches-just-accept/

Research suggests (and I have my own personal evidence!) that mothers  achieve more following their return to work - they are more resourceful, more decisive and motivated. They bring a different skill set to the workforce. 

I conclude that it’s going to take some doing to ‘smash’ this glass ceiling (another one!) but once it’s done, other women have something and someone to aspire to.

I think the very fact we are talking about it, challenging it and giving more consideration to it, means we are taking small steps forward. One day we’ll have coaches, support staff, umpires and even players travelling the world with children, being the best that they can be in their sport and it will actually be ‘the norm’.

I, for one,  will raise a glass to that! 🍸

#4 Be careful what you wish for........

If you have read my previous blogs you will know I have earned the nickname Neek (Netball Geek 🤓 )

The truth is it’s in my DNA, I’ve always been like this - always had that thirst for netball knowledge and that’s manifested itself in different ways over the years. As a child I was chief supporter. As a teen I developed a passion for playing and later on realised umpiring was a great way to earn money, therefore not missing out on playing opportunities for a dreaded Saturday job!

Coaching was always ‘built in’ thanks to my strong leadership skills (previously known as bossy - but I’ve taught my six year old to answer ‘I’m not bossy I’ve got strong leadership skills’ if anyone dares call her the ‘B’ word!)

I definitely have unfinished business as a Coach but for now I’m happy to sit back, relax, help others, when and if they need it, and return when I’m stronger and ready for the challenge. Coaching is bloody difficult. Those who’ve not done it underestimate how hard it is.

All that netball experience means I do have some very strong opinions and I’m not known for keeping them to myself! Whatever I do, whatever I say about netball it does comes from the heart.

I find the evolution of netball in the past few years really exciting and I’m very proud to have played a very small role through my previous job for the National Governing Body.

Our elite game has come on in leaps and bounds - players are fitter, stronger and more athletic. The game is far more physical than it has ever been. Players are awesome role models for watching youngsters. The endorsements, sponsorships and commercial opportunities will just grow and grow and that will be needed if players and eventually umpires, coaches and support staff want Netball  as a career.

As a little girl who dreamt of playing for England (we all had dreams!) it is incredible that we now have opportunities where Netball can be a career!

At what price will all that commercialism cost Netball though?

With the influx of more money comes higher stakes.

I’ll tell you a secret: I absolutely fell in love with football when I was 11 year old. My first match was a drab draw at Fratton Park, watching the mighty (!) Portsmouth v Walsall. I got soaked in the family section but I was absolutely enthralled and adored the  blues from then on!

Until i fell out of love with football.

It was some years later with the creation of the ‘Premier League’ and Simple Minds ‘Alive and Kicking’ promoting it on Sky: in the following years I saw players rolling around ‘in agony’, transfer fees rocket to disproportionate figures and my beloved Pompey escaping extinction by the skin of their teeth thanks to some very shady owners, who apparently passed the ‘fit and proper’ football club owners test.

Simply. I fell out of love with football because of money.

In the Suncorp Super Netball league (well regarded as the best domestic league in the world, trailblazing where it’s likely the Vitality Superleague will follow!) there are currently discussions about post match panels to sanction players for indiscretions umpires may not see! That may have all sorts of implications in the future - I rue the day we have any football- like ‘simulation’ from a Netballer!

We have also seen the introduction of ‘Nissan Net Points’ rewarding a player for turnovers and successful feeds amongst other ‘positives’ but subtracting points for missed shots and failed rebounds, amongst other ‘negatives’.

I was once accused of ‘not embracing change’ but it’s not true, I actually find change exciting - but not for ‘change sake’ and certainly not just so Nissan ( or any other company!) can interfere with our great game to put their brand to it!

I cannot stand ‘booing’ at netball games - it goes against everything I am in Netball for! I made my views very clear to those around me at Surrey Storm v Manchester Thunder in Guildford a few weeks ago! 😊 Take note if you’re sitting near me in Liverpool!

I also read with interest the debate on Twitter regarding the Thunder drums at the Superleague Semi Final and whether or not they were louder when Team Bath were shooting. There were no complaints from Bath, and Thunder defended their ardent supporters - ‘adding to the atmosphere’, apparently. ‘It wouldn’t be a problem at football’ I think one Tweet suggested!

I guess that’s my point. We’re Netball. We don’t have to be like any other sport, especially not football! We can map out our own path; we don’t have to ‘boo’ the umpires, just because football supporters have been calling referee’s names beginning with ‘W’ for decades!

We also  don’t have to pay the extortionate prices big names are putting on replica kit and training gear just because there is a big tick front & centre!

Yes, we want our elite players to do well, we don’t want them worrying about pensions, maternity pay and paying their rent on time. Yes, we also want great venues and training facilities, where we can all benefit no matter what level we play at. There is an whole host of improvements that can be made to our great game and benefits for all - I’m all for it and believe there’s still lots of change to come.

I’m just ever so nervous about the implications of all the commercialism. Is anyone actually considering the consequences? Will netball look ‘better’ in 5 years, 10 years, 20 years time? For me, at the moment, it’s a case of be careful what you wish for!