I've been around junior netball in Sydney, Australia for a number of years, and one thing that keeps coming up is the perception of favouritism.

I'm not talking about one club or one coach (Or am I) I'm talking about a pattern that many parents and players seem to discuss.

Some of the concerns I've heard or observed include:

• The same players being selected for representative teams or key positions year after year, regardless of current form.
• Players who consistently perform well and work hard struggling to get the same opportunities.
• Coaches appearing to favour players they already know or have coached before.
• Parents feeling that connections and politics sometimes matter more than performance.
• A culture where speaking up about these issues can make families worry they'll be labelled as "difficult."

Of course, there are many outstanding coaches across Sydney, Australia who are committed to developing every player fairly. But if favouritism even the perception of it exists, it can undermine trust and discourage talented young athletes.

Has anyone else involved in netball noticed this? Is it just part of representative sport, or is there a genuine issue with favouritism and politics?

I'd love to hear from players, parents, coaches, and officials. What has your experience been, and what could be done to make selections and player development feel more transparent and fair ?

Hi all. Have a netball mad daughter approaching her ninth birthday. She plays GS for our local team and is always shooting hoops in the garden. It’s her birthday coming up and I was thinking of getting her a rebound net to help practice making and receiving passes.

The netball specific ones I’ve seen are handheld and seem quite small. There are larger 4 square foot free standing football ones available at a lower cost, and also a huge 7 foot volleyball rebounder available. Have any other parents/coaches invested in these and how effective are they?

Thanks in advance

To say I’m underwhelmed is an understatement. 🙄

Smacked finger on the ball during an intercept 3 weeks ago and ended up with an avulsion fracture in the DIP joint. Saw hand therapist a week ago who advised 6 weeks in custom splint (2nd image).

GP said "NO netball" but hand therapist was totally unfazed saying he sees lots of footy and netball players continue to play wearing splints and still heal normally. He gave me this small, plastic oval 8 splint and said if I wanted to play to use that.

Question is, can I tape over this small plastic splint and still play (if so, how?) Have you guys done it? SHOULD I be playing with a fracture?

Ngl the hand therapist made it seem totally doable and not a big deal at all, but don't want to rush ahead if I'm going to do more damage...

Unsure if this is the right forum but wanting some advice from others on when and how is appropriate to provide feedback to the club committee.

TLDR; club isn’t supporting junior coaches, should I provide feedback to the club of the impact this has to the juniors on the team?

My child plays in an u9’s team. It their first year of netball/team sports. The team is coached by two first year, junior coaches (ie 15yo). I don’t have criticism of the coaches, they’re juniors who are also learning themselves and this kind of commitment is critical and admirable to make sure we keep developing grass roots netball. The feedback is more so about how the club committee is “coaching the coaches” and helping everyone to learn.

There appears to be very little mentoring, support or guideance provided to the coaches from the club. They are mainly left to fend for themselves at training and on game days, and we’re seeing this have a flow on impact to our team. Other teams in the same age group and competition have improved through this season, whilst our team has made little improvement and continues to struggle every week with even very simple game play. It’s not about the winning or losing, it’s about the experience our kids in this team are having and the impact this is having to their confidence and enjoyment of the game.

They’re walking away unsure of what they did well, what could have improved, or what to do during games. Often times the coaches from the opposing team are stepping in to coach our team on the court (Moddies rules allow this). It’s got to the point that my child is now questioning themselves, and why their team don’t seem to be able to even score a single goal most games.

My question is, is this an appropriate thing to provide feedback to the Club Committee of? I don’t want to be “that” parent, but at the same time there does appear to be a huge gap here that the club should be addressing.

Didn’t see this coming.

I know they made her reapply for the role but it felt like that might be a bit of a formality?

If they don’t move on a few players with her I’ll be fuming. She’s been badly let down by some of the on-court efforts in recent years.

If Simone McKinnis applied or someone of huge calibre like that then maybe fair enough.

Interesting times, anyway.

Idk if this is the right subreddit but I have netball trials for a club later today. I only play at school and haven't played in a while so I'm quite nervous. It's for U17/ Senior teams. Should I back out now whilst there is still time? Also any tips?

Post JST I am seeing a lot of different club posts celebrating players that were selected and played in rep teams. As expected most represented our association but there have been a few players that played for other associations. For argument sake say players from Campbelltown playing for Shoalhaven,Southern Highlands and Sutherland. I thought you had to be registered with the association to be eligible for selection. I was just curious how players are representing other associations.

What’s everyone’s take on this? Does anyone know what’s going on? Heard it happened at last years World Cup in Cape Town, that’s when shit went down.

I have a netball related question. Someone on a team I practice with regularly has suggested that the GA/GS use their body to push defenders whilst they're defending a shot.

Example: GS is taking a shot and GK is defending from 3 feet. The GA stands behind the GK and pushes them forwards into the GS to knock them off balance so the GS gets a penalty shot.

Is this causing contact?

With Liz Ellis announcing Diamonds supporter memberships at the SSN GF last night, I was hopeful.

But honestly, I think it reeks of being a cash-grab/fundraising effort. I strongly support netball Australia canning the Hancock sponsorship deal previously, but don’t think this is a valid alternative to the sponsorship that’s needed.

‘Member benefits’ ‘priority access’ ‘exclusive content’ - seems a bit like it’s been written by AI or Marketing 101.

What do we think r/netball community?

As signing season kicks off, any rumours of transfers?

Do you ever see the old kilt style netball skirts worn during games? They were standard when I was a kid but now its always flared style like Gilbert.

Just after some information from personal experience of students who have attended SEDA Geelong. Mainly around the Netball curriculum

I won it at this netball event a few years ago. The signatures are faded, but i’m so curious! I can’t make most of them out myself. Any help is great 😁 x

Hi all
Just wondering if anyone has any experience of/recommendations for a positive playing environment for under 8’s and up?

My daughter is 7 and is playing her 3rd season of netball so far. She is autistic and has multiple diagnosed learning difficulties. Despite this, she is physically fit and WANTS to play netball, however as she is not as “good” as the other players, she is currently spending a lot of time on the bench, and is getting quite disheartened by not being given opportunities to try other positions on court. She has stated multiple times she wants to quit or play elsewhere due to some negative experiences within the current team (from both teammates and coaches).

I don’t want to be “that parent” and seem like I’m all about her winning or getting upset with coaches etc because I think she deserves special treatment. I am aware she’s not best on court, however she tries her heart out when she’s on (even though she’s a little slow) and I don’t want her to give up because she’s having a not so great season in her current team.
She started winter last year and had a lot more success with a different coach and team mates!

I have googled and not been able to find “inclusive netball” teams for children (only adults) but am open to changing clubs if it means she will be treated better. For parents/carers out there, I am looking for a more inclusive environment, where kids are supported and encouraged and sportsmanship is promoted.

Eek, that’s a long post, but if anyone has any recommendations I’m very keen to hear - thank you in advance!

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hello. as a GK, how to stop the shooter when they give and go and cut the top of the circle? can’t find a video to help. Tia.

It’s boring and uninspired to me.

Some very lucky players.

The reserves (who won’t even travel) are: Grenvold, Parmenter and Wallam.

Thoughts? Quite excited to see how this team will play, with a few Ferns coming off playing for the SSN this year.

Kinda gutted my fave Jane Watson is not on the squad! She's had a great career, but such a shame it petered out with a season-ending injury and she's now officially retired.

Tbh I feel that now Belinda is continuing on as coach they need to change their lineup. It was most strongest with Koenen at GS, and wallam has the lowest shooting percentage in the whole of SSN.
They should drop her and pick up a strong GA to play out the front, maybe someone like graham, Dwyer?

Mavericks membership day!