The netball season was just about to start. Trials done, teams announced and the first training cancelled due to storms. There is always so much excitement and anticipation about getting underway for another year of Netball fun. Enter Covid-19!
There is no denying that Covid 19 has been inescapable for everyone around the world. Still, for us netball heads who live and breathe for coaching and playing, there is going to be a lot of time on our hands. So what can we do? Well to put it simply… I decided to start a blog. I get it though, it's not for everyone. So I am here to offer 5 ways you can keep involved as we wait to hear if our seasons are cancelled or will just be a little shorter and look a little different to usual.
1. Take a break:
It doesn’t matter whether you are a dad coaching your daughter's U9 team, or the president of a club coaching 4 teams, mentoring 2 players, have two daughters playing, assistant coaching a premier league team and coaching school netball (YES - this person is real). You deserve a netball break. Kick back, make a cup of tea and watch re-runs of Super Netball until you’ve seen it all.
2. Take time to reflect:
Write down all the things you love about coaching. Ask yourself why you started coaching and where your love for netball came from. It is so important to take time to reflect and reinvigorate our passion for the game we love. Your players will thank you for coming back fresh and inspired.
3. Get your ducks in a row:
I have folders galore of resources that I have loved (and hated) that are collecting dust. Now is a great time to organise all those favourite drills into archives that are accessible and useable. I know it can be hard to part with those hand scribbled drills you drew up while watching Youtube video's, but there are ways to organise yourself for the better. Sportplan offer software for curating your own resources, storing them online, and accessing them through their app - I love it. I would also love to hear how you organise your drills.
4. Knowledge upgrade:
There are so many great resources out there for improving our knowledge. Netball Australia offer online modules, Sportplan offers a community of drill sharing, Youtube sites like thenetballcoach.com are great for visual learning, Pinterest can lead you down a fun rabbit hole of practical and not so practical netball fun (check out netballconnect), and NetFit has your netball fitness covered. What are some of your favourite resources out there?
5. Engage with your team and club
If you were lucky enough to have found out your team you can still stay connected with them. Perhaps you can help your club connect with players. After all, we are communities first and netballers second. My club has been setting fitness challenges, uploading a workout of the week and getting players to send in TikTok trick shots to keep the community spirit alive. What is your club doing?
Don’t forget to look after yourself in this crazy world and get prepared for some Netball soon…
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