Participation in sport is beneficial for everyone, but particularly for teenage girls, offering countless benefits that go well beyond physical health.
Sport helps build self-confidence and a positive body image, promotes mental well-being by reducing stress and anxiety, and provides a sense of belonging and social connection.
Unfortunately, despite these benefits many girls drop out of sport around 15 years of age.
At Warrandyte Netball Club (WNC) we want girls to continue playing sport, so we spend time talking to our players and their families about what motivates them to play.
One word inevitably comes up – “fun”.
Having fun is a great motivator but can often mean different things to different people.
In this case though, what we hear is consistent across our club and matches what academic research shows.
Fun means having a friendly coach who teaches and challenges you to improve, playing with friends, having a strong connection to your teammates and your club, and being supported and encouraged to try your best.
A key reason why girls leave sport is the lack of visible role models, whether those role models are a parent who plays sport or a female competing at a high level.
We wanted to do something that would be a fun activity on its own, but also meet the broader definitions of fun our players had identified, so we recently took a group of players to “Train Like a Vixen” at the State Netball Centre.
This was the second year in a row we have taken three teams, and we aim it to make it an annual event for our 13U and 15U players.
These all-day clinics are run by experienced coaches and allow players to develop their skills while strengthening their connection by training as a team.
They cover all areas of netball including fitness and agility, ball handling, passing and shooting, nutrition, and end with gameplay, with the teams being advised on tactics by the clinic’s coaches.
They also give players a chance to meet some strong female role models – in this case Melbourne Vixens players Emily Andrew and Rudi Ellis who joined in the training activities and graciously signed all manner of merchandise.
Thanks to our sponsors, The Grand Hotel Warrandyte and Community Bank Warrandyte, the clinics were free of cost for players and free of hassle for parents who dropped their children off at Warrandyte Reserve in the morning and picked them up when they returned in the afternoon.
“It was great fun all catching the bus together and I learnt so much from the coaches,” said Molly.
“My favourite part was meeting two Vixens players and one of the coaches who used to play for Australia,” she continued.
Although these special events are motivating and exciting, it is the everyday atmosphere at a sporting club that makes the most difference.
Friends are the most influential voices in young people’s lives, and we are very pleased with the number of new players who have joined us recently because their friends play at WNC and have told them how much fun they have at the club.
We choose our coaches carefully and give them the support and training they need to create a friendly and inclusive environment where players of all abilities and motivations can grow and thrive.
Although winning is undoubtedly important as it offers a sense of accomplishment and validation for hard work, it is essential that we understand and explain that the journey towards a goal is often more valuable than the outcome itself.
The journey fosters personal growth, develops resilience, builds self-esteem, and teaches that success comes from dedication and perseverance, not just luck and natural talent.
To help build a sense of connection and belonging, our training sessions start with teams in the same age group warming up together before breaking out into individual teams with their own coaches.
Our players train in WNC training tops, coloured in the familiar Warrandyte red, helping to advertise and strengthen their bonds with each other and with the club.
Our age groups have a dinner together at the club’s expense where they can get to know each other outside of the netball environment and we host larger social events during the year, including our season launches and presentation days where all members of the WNC community are invited.
Family influence plays a huge role in girls starting and continuing to play sport, with parents being role models and providing encouragement and support for their children’s sporting activities.
There is no better way of role modelling a sport to your children than playing it yourself, so we are proud to have multiple netball teams featuring mothers who have returned to the sport.
As important as retaining players is, it is also vital to recruit new ones, and our Woolworths NetSetGO (NSG) program gives children a chance to make new friends while teaching netball skills in a fun game-based manner.
We run NSG each school term and it is so important for introducing players to netball that we are offering it free of club fees with just a Netball Victoria membership fee to be paid once per year.
This September and next January, we are running free three-day school holiday programs, funded by an $8,000 Woolworths Pick Fresh Play Fresh grant.
These programs aim to inspire healthy eating habits through sport and will feature sessions on nutrition and the importance of eating well to support sporting performance.
We were proud to see a WNC NSG player, Edie, lead the Vixens out in their Preliminary Final against West Coast Fever.
It was an amazing opportunity for her meet her netball idols and before the game she was very excited, saying “I can’t wait to meet the Vixens and I’m so lucky to be able to run out on to the court with them.”
Well done Edie – if you stick with netball then you might just be running out as a player one day!
Warrandyte Diary, August 2024
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