Lightening Online

If your screen is shaking, don’t be alarmed.  That’s just me jumping around like an excited madwoman.  LOL.

It’s very exciting you know.  My very FIRST goal!!!!

At the end of training, we did a bit of a fun “let’s swap positions”.  I figure it’s the only way I’m going to have a go at goalie so I did.

After a few misses, I went for a shot against my better judgement.  I’m sure no-one expected me to get it in.

But.  I.  Did!!!!!

Go Me!!!!  ROFLOL.

Netball on Saturday ended up being a day of firsts for me.

First Number One

My first game without the regular coach.  She was our coach last year so I haven’t played too much without her around.  I felt a bit like a 5 year old on their first day of school without their mum.  LOL.

First Number Two

Said “mum” (ie coach - who’ll probably kill me for calling her mum given she’s not that much older than me ) decided in her absence to throw me into a new position.  CENTRE!!!!!  For those not familiar with netball, Centre is the position that does the most running.

In her defence, I did tell her one time that I would like to learn how to play Centre.  I just wasn’t expected it THIS week. 

It was only 1 quarter and after a mild panic at the beginning of the quarter where I couldn’t remember whether to jump into the circle before or after the whistle, I seemed to cope okay.

I think I did okay for my first attempt and quite enjoyed myself.

First Number Three

I played my first full game!!!!!

1/4 in Centre AND my first full game.  Yep, I slept well Saturday night.

Last year I played mostly half games while I was learning and this year I’ve played mostly 3/4.  We have a large team so most people play 3/4.

I played the rest of the game in WA which is also a new position for me.  I had quite a few calls of contact from the opposition so that was lots of fun after playing mostly defence where you’re always the one being pinged for contact.

Pity about the stepping problem I seemed to be having though.  By the end of the game I was throwing some really strange passes because I was so afraid of getting picked up for stepping.  LOL.  They got where they needed to go which I guess is the main thing.

First Number Four

One of my friends, who has played a lot of netball, told Farmboy that if I didn’t get picked as the best player for our team, there was something wrong.  I don’t know how biased she is but it was a nice thing to say. 

I guess with missing a couple of a our key players and a couple of our other reliable players seeming to be off their game a little, anything is possible.  But the very thought makes me laugh.

First Number Five

We got thrashed.

I’m used to playing in a team that either wins or only loses by a goal or 2.

Actually, we did lose 1 other game by a reasonable number of goals.  And that team got beaten by the one we played on Saturday, so perhaps I shouldn’t be surprised.  We drew with this team (actually, I should probably say “club” because I’m not sure the team was much the same) last time we played them.

Of course, when you play in new positions and get thrashed, there’s this nagging doubt “what if it was my fault”?  Not that you could put that big a loss down to any one player.  But, you know how it goes, yeah?

I Had So Much Fun!!!

In instances like this, I think it helps that I’m not overly competitive.  Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE to win.  Winning is awesome (particularly when it’s the Grand Final) BUT, I can still have fun and lose.

The only person I get competitive with is myself.  I want to keep improving.  And I don’t want it to be my “fault” if we do lose.  If someone else is off their game (and I think it happens to all of us), that’s cool.  Not cool if it’s me though.  LOL.  Yeah, I’m too hard on myself at times.

The girls I was playing against were so lovely.  As it turned out, they had both had jobs in the previous game so we’d been chatting and having a lovely time before we even knew we’d be playing each other.  The girl who played WD against me was even helping me along at different parts throughout the game.  It’s not a club that’s known for good sportsmanship so it was rather nice.

I think the only downside to the day was not having the coach there.  Her opinion always seems to matter to me more than anyone elses.

P.S.  Oh, and not a first because I did get one last year.  But I was awarded the incentive award this week.  A $25 Caltex card (which looks like we can use it anywhere so that’ll go toward the “big trip” ).

P.P.S. The stand in coach was lovely.  I think she was a bit down on herself that we lost by so much but well, these things do happen.  I was talking to one of the more seasoned players in our team and asking her opinion of what happened and her comment was that they were simply a better team.

P.P.P.S.  No, that’s it.  I’ve finished raving on about netball for now.  LOL.  Wish I had a photo of me in Centre though - that would have been one for the album!!!! 

We had a slightly different netball training tonight.

For a start, only 5 members of our team were there.

And the A Grade didn’t “officially” have training tonight.

Although 4 of them turned up for fitness.

The C Grade coach was overseeing our training as our own coach couldn’t be there either.

Since we didn’t have a full team, she gave us the option of going home early.

We declined (go us!  LOL).

So the A Graders that were there did some training with us.

4 of them to 5 of us is pretty good training odds.

They sure put us through the paces.  And  couple of the drills I didn’t think I was EVER going to get.  It’s surprising though.  When you have 4 that know what they’re doing, you get the idea eventually.

Tell you what though.  I.  AM.  EXHAUSTED.

It’s the good kind of exhausted though. 

I do like being challenged.

I know I’m never going to be a star netballer.  But I’ll take any opportunity I can get to learn from those that are! 

For those of you who are not familiar with netball, F Grade is the beginning grade.  Our F Graders generally start at around year 3, although we also have some year 2 girls who are doing a “training year”.

Most weeks I go to junior training with Singstar Princess and watch and occasionally help out as needed.  Last year it was quite a big team so extra hands were welcome.  It’s a bit smaller squad this year so it’s probably not quite as needed although I do actually find it quite helpful to watch what they do (given I’m basically an oversized F grader really).

Last year it was a bit of a joke that I wanted to play F Grade and they wouldn’t let me.

So tonight I finally got my wish when they were short on the court to play a practise match.  It was a lot of fun although actually quite challenging to work out how much to hang back and how much to get stuck in there.

I even got to play goal keeper for a while.  F grade is the only grade where I think I’d be considered tall enough to play goal keeper.  LOL.

It was fun!  I wonder if they’ll let me play again?

Senior Training was pretty full on tonight.  I think I might pull up a little sore.

I’m trying really hard to relax and not take myself so seriously.  So I had a lot of laughs (mostly at my own expense) and for the most part it was fun.

I do wonder though if I’ll always feel like the “dumb one” when it comes to understanding the game.  I can’t exactly get back all those years in my youth where I didn’t get to play.  And I’ve never really been all that good at sport to begin with.  A bit of extra speed would be good too - I kept ending behind my opponent instead of in front of them.  Bit hard to defend from behind.  Oh well…

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The netball and football season for 2009 officially kicked off last night with our first training for all grades.

Trailer Boy was so cute.  He wanted to go to football training.  At 5, he’s a little on the young side but having a father as assistant coach gives certain privileges so we allowed him to go (on the proviso he listened and didn’t muck around).  He was so excited to put on Lleyton’s old Crows guernsey and Lleyton let him wear his spare footy shorts (size 10 mind you!!!!).  I wish I’d had time to take a photo but we were running a little late (maybe next week?).  Apparently he did very well at training and stayed involved for the entire hour + .   Farmboy even said that if he was keen enough he could probably get a run this year (get to play on a Saturday).  I’m not so keen on that idea given it’s an “under 12″  competition.

Princess Singstar was also very excited to be getting into netball this year.  I watched her training and you can see the results of her training year last year.  She’s no longer one of the “newbies” with a few in the year level below her beginning their training year this year.   I was able to get a second hand uniform for her last night which is a relief as new they’re $50.  It’s a little bit on the large side but then they were recommending I go larger anyway to get a couple of years of wear from the uniform.

Lleyton had a great night.  He joined the Senior Colts training when the juniors were finished and it looks like he might get a run with them some of the time this year (when they’re short).  He had the opportunity last year but wasn’t overly keen (which was wise given how small he is).  It’ll be interesting to see how he goes this year.

Farmboy thinks he’s going to pull up a little sore after his training last night.  He was pretty exhausted after a couple of days shearing followed by training the juniors then his own training in seniors.

And Me?

I’ve forgotten how to play netball!!!!

Which isn’t all that surprising but rather frustrating.

Let’s hope it all starts to come back to me soon.

Because it feels kind of silly given I’m no longer in my “first year”.

Anyway, time will tell.

It’s kind of messy at the moment while they try and work out the higher grades.  I think once that’s settled down and we can train as a team, it’ll get better (I hope so anyway).

Fitness wise I felt I did okay.

Ball skills?

Hmmmm…….

Footwork?

I can’t remember how to pivot and to remember which foot I landed on.

Court Play?

Well, admittedly we only had enough for half court (while the others were mucking around with team selection) and no bibs and a mixture of people so it did make it kind of hard.  I couldn’t remember who was on my team and generally had no idea what I was doing.

Other than really bad cramping last night, I seem to be pulling up okay - so that’s good.

Things can only get better from here, right?

Well, you already know this has been a week FULL of smiles for me with our Netball Grand Final Victory!!! Here’s a shot of my medallion:

Followed on Sunday with our club presentations for the football and netball season.

For those who missed my original post, that’s one award - The Most Improved Senior Netball Player. It’s a perpetual award so one part goes on the club wall and the trophy is for me to keep.

Then last night we had our Victory Dinner. A time to celebrate our Grand Final win. Here we all are sitting at the “winners” table.

The coach gave out Beanie Kids awards which was lots of fun. She’d chosen a Beanie Kid for each player with an explanation for why she had chosen that Beanie Kid.

And LOOK AT MINE!!!! (sorry for shouting, I’m VERY excited!!!)

A netball beanie kid!!! In Wing Defense!!!! Obviously she thinks I’m so good that one day I’ll play netball for Australia!!!!

I remember seeing these when DD was shopping for a Beanie Kid one day on the way out to netball training. I’d only just started playing and I REALLY wanted one.

Like REALLY, REALLY wanted one.

But what self-respecting 34 year old (actually, I was only 33 back then) buys THEMSELF a beanie kid? Someone has to give you one right? That’s much better!!!

And they DID!!!

I got a netball beanie kid! I got a netball beanie kid!

LOL. That’s going to bring me lots of smiles every time I see it.

The night didn’t quite turn out how we’d planned. Instead of partying into the wee hours of the morning we ended up at the hospital just as the clock ticked over into another day. We’d had a phone call during the evening from Farmboy’s mum to say that Trailer Boy wasn’t going all that well. We got back there about 11 and decided to whip him up the hospital and get the nurse on duty to listen to his chest “just in case” (since we were so close and all). By the time we got there, the croupy cough had just started and by the time the doctor arrived, he had full blown croup.

Redipred hardly touched the sides and the poor kid spent half the night coughing up mucous. *sigh* So I’m sleep deprived but not quite for the reasons I expected.

But, all that aside…

I’ve got a netball beanie kid! I’ve got a netball beanie kid!!!! LOL.

What Smiley moments have you had this week? If you’d like to share, feel free. Or write a post that makes people smile in some way and join us in Smiley Saturday this week. Then share your link using the Mr Linky below.

P.S. I’ve got a netball beanie kid! I’ve got a netball beanie kid!!! LOL. Okay, I’ll shut up now.

Tonight our club is putting on a Victory Dinner. Apparently this is something they do each year to celebrate those teams that win a Grand Final. This year that would be us and….well, just us actually. Which isn’t all that common from what I can gather (being new to all this stuff I know very little about it really). Usually there are a number of teams celebrating a victory together at the Victory Dinner.

So I don’t really know what is going to happen tonight but I’m expecting it to be a fun night. The kids are staying over at the Grandparents so it’s a bit of a “night out” for DH and I as well. I am looking forward to it muchly.

I’ve had a busy week with trying to get ready to pick up our caravan and go away, with very little notice. But I really wanted to do a little something for my team-mates as a thank you for putting up with me throughout the year. We have a large team and my playing has meant less court time for other members of the team.

They’ve all been very supportive and encouraging throughout the season and I heart them all.

I wanted to make chocolate hearts but it would seem among my gazzillion chocolate moulds that I’ve inherited from different sources over the years, there wasn’t a single heart among them. Actually, there was 1 square chocolate with a little heart on it. But it took me most the day as it was - I think it would have taken me all week to make enough with this 1 chocolate mould. So, they’ll have to settle for mostly flowers. It’ll all taste the same anyway!!!

I’m not generally a gushy person. It takes an effort to tell people how I feel. But although it doesn’t come easily, it’s something I try to work on doing because I believe it’s important. So finding something to write about each player in my team was somewhat of a challenge. Well, some were easier than others.

Anyway, here is the finished product:

Hopefully they’ll like them. I’m still tossing up whether or not to colour in the lettering. It’s coming down to a time factor I think. So much to do so little time.

So, now I need to make a decision about what to wear. I think we decided on the dress-code being “whatever you feel like wearing”. LOL. I have this black and gold dress I bought earlier in the year which I’d like to wear. It’s a tiny bit tight across the chest (was mail order and I decided it wasn’t worth exchanging for the next size up). But I am in LOVE with it and have been waiting for an opportunity to wear it.

Otherwise it’ll be a plain black dress which will be more comfortable but not as exciting to wear.

Oooh….I’m getting all excited just thinking about it.

I haven’t written the Smiley Saturday post yet because I want to write about the Victory Dinner. So if it’s a little late going up, please bear with me - it will be coming (I may just be sleeping in ).

I’ve also been having a LOT of internet connection troubles lately so if I haven’t been by to comment, please accept my apologies. It’s been mighty frustrating.

After hosting a massive Grand Final Day on Saturday, we all turned around and headed back to the club for our end of season wind-up and presentations. It was a HUGE weekend and I almost went through a box of tissues as every time someone went to tears, so did I.

Thankfully, tears were very much the order of the day so I felt quite at home.

Junior Presentations were held in the morning, followed by a pooled lunch (and I don’t want to know how many calories I consumed) and then senior presentations.

Singstar Princess had a training year this year. This is an excellent way for the girls to begin learning netball skills without being overwhelmed by playing an actual game. As she was one of the training girls, I wasn’t expecting her to be a part of the presentations. She had a wonderful coach for her first year (who was also coached our A grade) and the coach did include those training in her presentations which was lovely.

Here she is with her fellow “training” buddies (one is missing). In the background is her coach and our netball club President:

I’ll give you 1 guess which one of the girls is Singstar Princess (hint: she matches my blog ).

Lleyton was a little nervous leading up to the Presentations for his team. This was his first year as one of the “bigger” boys in the team and I think he was hoping he had a chance to win a trophy.

And he did! He got the trophy for most improved. His first football trophy!!! He has written about his experiences on his own blog (the blogging bug has bitten him too!!!), Lleyton’s Place.

Farmboy was assistant coach for Lleyton’s team this year. This photo shows his coach (with the microphone) and Farmboy being presented with thank you gifts by a couple of the senior members of the team:

Alright, enough about the rest of the family. On to ME.

Early on in the Senior Netball presentations there was an award presented that I didn’t even know existed. Thinking back, I think there was a similar one presented for the Senior Footballers.

They read out a page of writing about the winner of the award, omitting the name as they go. In my case, it was pretty obvious in the second sentence who they were talking about (at least to me) because we don’t have a lot of players that decide to take up netball after a 21 year break.

The Award was for the “Most Improved Senior Player”. It’s a perpetual award so my name is on the shield/plaque (no idea what it’s called really) which lives on the clubroom wall and I get my own trophy to keep.

Guess what? I’ve NEVER won a sports trophy before. Not for ANY reason.

As I sat there listening to what my coach had written about me, I got very teary. I said to the girl sitting next to me (who happened to be our incoming netball club president) that I was going to cry and she told me that was okay. I didn’t realise just how teary the whole presentations were going to be as this was very early on in the piece. And unbenownst to me, my coach was standing behind me in tears as well.

I’m sitting here with what she wrote about me in my lap, tearing up as I read through it again. I can’t make up my mind whether to type it out here or not. It’s quite long and I’m not sure which bits to include and not include.

This photo didn’t come out very well but I still wanted to include because it’s very special and important. This is me and Sharon as she presents me with the award:

I REALLY wanted to say something to acknowledge how appreciative I feel about the way the club has embraced me and also our family as part of it. It’s not a perfect club but it is a wonderful one and one we’re proud to call our own. I was worried though that I’d get all teary during my speech. Thankfully I somehow managed to pull it together enough to say what I wanted to say (at least I think I said what I wanted to say - it all goes in such a blur and you just hope you didn’t miss anyone out).

In this shot, I’m in the middle of thanking my team mates for winning a Premiership for me in my first year.

And this is me with the plaque that goes on the wall, my trophy and the Premiership medallion. It’s a much more flattering shot with all that wood to cover my flabby bits!!! Not a skeric of make up left after so many tears though. LOL.

Summary of My Netball Year:

I started out wanting to train with the girls for some fitness. We were there while Farmboy trained and it seemed senseless to me to sit on the sidelines and watch when I could be using that time to improve my fitness.

One week they were short on numbers at training and made use of me to make up a team. Getting a taste for netball after so many years made me realise how badly I wanted to play again.

There was a time of grief where I had to work through my feelings over being forced to give up netball as a child. It was a place where I felt loved and accepted in a way that didn’t happen a lot in my life.

After much angst and deliberation, I finally asked the coach if she could tell me when she thought I was ready to try playing in a game. Expecting this to be some time in the distant future, I nearly fell off my office chair when she suggested a game 2 weeks from the time of the conversation.

My team were amazingly supportive as I went to take the court for the first time. I was so nervous but soon discovered that nerves can actually be a helpful thing in a game of netball. They gave me some extra adrenaline to put that bit extra in.

At the end of the game they were so encouraging and the coach gave me the incentive award for the game. Everyone cheered and I got all teary so I hid in my bag (I wasn’t ready for everyone to see me all teary).

The club gave me a towel and pointed out that many people had been in the club for years and still didn’t have the coveted towel. I felt an overwhelming sense of belonging. It was very special and touching. For the first time I could really see why people get so passionate about their sporting clubs.

In July our club put on a midweek netball carnival. It was meant to be a bit of fun and designed to encourage those who don’t play or who’ve retired from playing to come and have a go. I was blessed to be in a team of encouraging people and gained quite a bit of court experience that day. Our team was most surprised to finish the day second. I felt sick when I realised it meant we’d have to play the top team AGAIN and this time with everyone else watching!!! I didn’t expect to win but don’t think I’d appreciated how much my team-mates had held back in the spirit of the day. Our opposition had taken the day a bit too seriously so we played harder in the final and WON!!!! It was a really GOOD feeling and I got my first winners medallion (albeit a cardboard one ).

The season brought with it many ups and downs and so many times I thought about giving up. Thankfully I had some great encouragement and support around me and kept going through those times.

When we reached the finals, I contemplated not playing. I’d had my fun and achieved what I wanted to achieve and didn’t want to hold my team back from their chance at winning. Something deep within didn’t want to step aside. I wanted to be a part of the team right to the very end.

Many coaches would have made that decision for me by sitting me out during the finals. It’s common practise to play your best team during the finals. On the same day that I decided I would REALLY like to play a tiny bit in the finals, my coach also came to the same conclusion.

I am SO glad now that I got to play in that Grand Final. It helps me to feel a part of the win, even if my netball skills didn’t necessarily contribute.

Completed the year by being awarded the Most Improved Senior Player for our netball club.

All that’s left now is the Victory Dinner which is sure to be a great night and a fabulous way to finish my first year of Senior Netball. I feel like I have a lot to celebrate.

The question now is: How am I supposed to ever top this??? I think I’m not. Just hold onto it as a fond memory - one to cherish for life!!!

I never dreamed that my decision to train with these girls for fitness would end up like this! But I’m sure glad I did!!!!

Right now I’m feeling weary and a little overwhelmed. It feels like the events of the past 2 days have somehow been a dream. I have so much I want to tell you about that I don’t know where to start. I guess the best place to start is the beginning and make my way through what has happened. It may take me a couple of posts to get through it all. Hopefully you don’t find it too boring!

Lead Up To The Grand Final

The week in the lead up to the Grand Final was a roller coaster ride of emotions. When I read this post, I wondered if the coach was thinking of not playing me in the Grand Final. To be honest, I wouldn’t have blamed her if she didn’t. We lost the first final we played in by 2 goals and only won the second finals game we played in the last quarter. The Grand Final was likely to be a close game and as a coach, you want to give your team the best edge you can.

I wasn’t even sure I WANTED to play. I did. But at the same time I was really scared. The last thing I wanted to do was be responsible for my team losing. Not that you can necessarily put it down to 1 player. I was torn between not wanting to play if we lost because I knew I’d constantly question whether it was my fault. At the same time, I knew that I would find it hard to feel a part of it if we did win and I hadn’t played at all.

On top of all that, I was having a really rough week (unrelated to netball) and not sleeping well. I wasn’t even sure I would be UP to the task if my coach did decide to let me take the court.

So I said nothing, and waited. Trying to prepare myself for either eventuality and knowing that my coach would play me if she possibly could.

The Grand Final Game

In the end I got to play my 1 quarter (which was all I wanted - just enough to be a part of the action). AND the team won. Phew! So it was all good.

It was a nail biter of a game. We were down by 4 goals at the end of the first half. I hate it when we go down in a quarter I play because I constantly second guess myself, trying to work out if it was my fault we went down.

During the second half I screamed myself silly. To the point that after every goal that was shot I got dizzy from screaming so much.

Toward the end of the 3rd quarter our goalies picked up their accuracy (it was a feral day - horrible for the poor goalies) and the opposition dropped their accuracy. I’m sure there were many other factors that played a part in our winning but at the end of the day WE WON!!!

Anyway, enough rambling on. Here are some photo’s. I’m wishing I took some photo’s of the action but I was a bit too intent on the game to even think about the camera.

Here is our beautiful captain giving the acceptance speech for the shield. She did such a wonderful job!!! It isn’t easy speaking off the cuff like that.

The presentations take place pretty much straight after the game. Here is most of the team just before the medals are presented:

Here’s a shot of the coach. This is the happiest I’ve seen her look all season . I wonder if she’ll tell us what was being said at the time?

Here is the team with the shield. There were quite a few photographer’s and Farmboy didn’t get to take a more front angled shot so this is the best we have. I’m sitting down the front with my “little sister” . I think if I call my coach mum though she might slap me.

As things turned out, we were the only team in the club to win a Premiership so we’ve been in the limelight a bit. While I am disappointed for the other 2 teams that played in a Grand Final and didn’t win, in some ways that may have worked out to our advantage. As the lowest of the senior netball teams, we are sometimes the “forgotten grade”. By being the only team to actually win a Premiership this year, we haven’t been overshadowed by any of the “perceived more important teams” winning.

Well, so far this post has taken me most of the morning to compose (amongst interruptions) so I’m going to save the Presentations for another post. If you’ve read the comments on my last post you’ll have gathered that I have some news to share. I will post about it soon, I promise.

Bwwwaaaahhhhhaaaahaaaa!!!!

Yes, we did WIN!!!

Phew!!! I think it’s been the longest week of my life.

And the laughter in the top line is because I didn’t really conquer. My team did. But I’m happy to celebrate with them.

As soon as I woke up this morning my heart started racing. I decided I wasn’t sure if I ever wanted to get into a Grand Final again. So much emotion in the lead up to the game.

But winning kind of changes all that. Makes it all worth while I guess.

And I REALLY wanted my team to win.

I nearly screamed myself hoarse during the final quarter and kept getting head spins I was yelling so much. A couple of times I thought I was going to faint.

It’s getting late and we have our club wind-up tomorrow but I’ll post some pictures and more details as soon as I get time.