Eastside Saints Netball club will be introducing an expanded junior netball program in 2010, minimum age turning 15 years old in 2010
Who are we aiming at?
Eastside gives players the opportunity to:
compete in Premier League night competition at the State Netball Centre
receive coaching on technical aspects of netball, team-work and attitude needed to take their game to the highest level
have a pathway to VNL 19Us by playing in feeder grades, based on merit rather than age-group
What do we offer?
To help players learn the skills they need go from a talented junior to an effective and successful senior player, to take their netball to the highest level they can:
Specific positional play
Focus on combination play with others
Specific team strategies
Awareness and use of space
Reading of the game
Control and consistency
Work rate and intensity
Attitude:
Team first
Never give up
Willing to learn
Commitment
How do we do this?
Give players the opportunity to learn the skills of strategy, teamwork, intensity, concentration, focus, court craft, positional play that make a skillful 15 year old player into an effective and valuable 18/19 year old or senior player.
Have levels for players to progress through where they can be challenged by not overwhelmed.
Offer a chance to progress through the levels without being forced/burnt-out, with the skills and enjoyment for a successful and capable netball career for many years to come.
Changes with the introduction VNL
With the introduction of VNL, there seems to be a surge in interest among juniors in getting into a VNL 19U team - at around ages 15-16. In reality, the gap from 15/1s netball to VNL 19U is large. Those who are effective VNL 19U players at 16 are almost all in state and national programs. Yet with all the excitement surrounding the introduction of VNL, a lot of players are trying to jump that big gap at a younger age rather than going through the levels in between, and if they are not ready it is easy to get burned out.
Here is where we come in. There are many very talented players who are coming out of 15U rep programs and keen to take their netball to the highest level they can, but need the opportunity to progress for a couple of years to reach VNL standard by 19U age.
This is where we can offer players a chance to improve their netball to the best level they can reach, but step by step so they don't burn out and lose their passion for and enjoyment of the game.
Also, 15-16 year olds' priorities may change as they progress through those last few years at school and beyond - VNL players must make a very large commitment which some don't want, some players develop in late teens, some are early bloomers. We can provide the environment where those who wish to learn all the skills required for vnl and may decide enter vnl at open age level
