Pippies Netta

Another Saturday has gone and with it more games of Netta. I have a daughter playing her first year of Netta and this week was her 5th game. When the team first started they didnt have any idea of what they were doing! We stood them on the court and that is pretty much were they stayed! All they were thinking about was where they were aloud to be!! The other team ran rings around them...... Oh well. Things are slowly changing, they eventually got their first goal last week, so we took them to McDonalds for a special treat.
All the girls are having a really great time and have just started to 'get' the game ( at last us parents are saying!) Its funny, my little one has been at the side of the court since she was 6 weeks old and up until now she really has had no idea.. BUT she made 2 beautiful intersepts this week, and as proud and chuffed as I am, I would have to say that one of these intersepts would easily have been the best on court.
All the kids have worked really hard on 'shadowing' defence and you could really tell. Congratulations to everyone for the great defence on the court.
Also a big congratulations goes to their coach, she has put in alot of time and effort so far with the preparation for training sessions and the games but also the extra 'small' things. She always has a little reward for the girls at the end of the games and training as well as little trophies for most improved and player of the week. You can see in the kids faces how much they appreciate all of these little encouragements! Good work Coach ( I havent said her name as she doesnt know that I have written this.)

NETTA - See Comments for training drills

So what is the difference between Netball and Netta?

Well firstly, there are no winners or losers in fun net as scores are not kept. This is to encourage the participants to have fun and enjoy the sport and want to come back and play. Also the rules and the equipment used have been modified and adapted to the physical and psychological abilities of children aged between 8-10 years of age.

Netta is not aged based, some children playing in a netta team may be 8 years old and others will be 10 years old. This is done as not all children develop at the same rate and some older children wont be able to cope with all the physical and technical demands of Netball. Also younger children who have shown early development and readiness for competative netball can be moved up from Netta to Netball.

Basic differences are :-

• Netball posts are lowered to 2.4m
• Netball is smaller, size 4
• Players must be 1.2m away from attacking player with the ball before defending a pass
• Players are not put out of play for obstruction and contact, the umpire corrects the play, then they continue on with the game
• 4 x 10 minute quarters
• Shuffling of feet is allowed when catching the ball to maintain balance
• Up to 6 seconds to hold onto the ball before passing
• Up to 12 children in a team, at the end of each quarter all positions on court needs to be changed so that all children get to play all positions
• No scores kept so that emphasis is on fun rather than competitiveness.

FUN NET

It is designed for kids (boys and girls) aged 5 to 7 years of age. Fun Net is designed to develop the children's basic motor skills, balance, co-ordination, footwork and ball handling in fun environment. The kids join Fun Net as individuals and the emphasis is on participation and fun. (hence the name fun net!) They learn skills through activities and games that are netball orientated and are actively encouraged to have lots of fun!

Why Fun Net?

The sport of netball is a challenging game that involves many skills and has a lot of rules! Children need to be introduced to the sport gradually through age appropriate games and activities. The children can then develop their motor skills and confidence as they participate in a non competitive environment.
With the basic netball skills that they learn through Fun Net they will progress to Netta with more confidence and a better understanding of some of the basic skill that are required in the game of netball.

All About Netball.

Hi everyone,
I have decided to start a blog on netball and what it is all about. I hope that every one who is into netball can get something out of this. And good luck to all in their season of netball.