Lightening Online

Yes, we won our netball game today.

I’m very happy about that because I wasn’t ready for the season to finish yet.

This win means we have 2 more trainings for the season (at least).

And without netball training, I find it REALLY hard to maintain my fitness.

I thought we all played really well today.

We are really playing as a team!

Which makes netball even MORE fun!

There really is very little bitchiness in our team this year.

Unless they’re all talking about ME behind my back.  LOL.

I played a full game.

A full game in FINALS!!!!

Talk about stunned!

3/4 of that was in Centre and 1/4 I played Wing Defense.

And boy am I exhausted!!!! 

Exhausted but happy.

I found out later that I played 3/4 of the game against a D-grader who is one of the top players in the Association (which makes her quite a handy little player).

She sure was zippy!

But lots of people told me I played well.

That’s really boosted my confidence going into the next finals game.

Sadly, both Farmboy and Lleyton lost today which means they’re now out of the finals and finished with football for the year.

But Lleyton was given the $10 incentive award from the coach today which he was stoked about.  I couldn’t watch him as my game was earlier today but Farmboy says he played a great game.  Which is wonderful as the team he was playing for is the team he goes up into next year.  I really hope the coach for that team decides to do it again.  He’s a great role model for the boys and a great coach.

We’re coming close to the end of netball season now, with finals starting this Saturday.

We finished the minor round 3rd on the ladder (out of 5 teams).

Now we have to win every game to stay in the competition.

While it would be GREAT to win another Grand Final, I don’t really mind winning or losing.

EXCEPT that now losing means netball is over for another year. 

Just when our team is really gelling well together.

And the coach has really been hitting her straps the past few weeks.

Settling in to her position (as coach I mean), understanding the individuals in the team and their various strengths and weaknesses.

And PUSHING us!

I LOVE THAT!!!!

Often in sport you get this attitude that if you’re not good enough to be the “best” (or at least “up there”), you’re not worth the time and effort.

That’s what I love so much about this coach.

She DOES give us the time and effort.

She DOES expect us to put in time and effort.

She DOESN’T treat us like the “dregs”.

And yes, sadly, there are many in our club who see our grade as not really worth anything (but there are also others who are very supportive).

Win or lose, I think we’re going into the finals a lot stronger than we started out the year.

It’s just a pity there aren’t more games in the season.

I hope she decides to coach us again next year (maybe I should send her this post?). 

P.S.  If my old coach happens to read this, none of this post is a reflection on the job you did as coach!!!  I <3 you too!!!!

P.P.S.  You know my last post about netball, where I was talking about not being “great” but being “consistent”.  Well, it turns out the coach of the opposing team chose ME as player of the day (for our players auction) for the very game I was talking about.  I nearly fell off my chair when they read my name out.  ME????

I haven’t posted about netball yet this year.

It’s been a bit of an interesting year so far.

My first year without my original coach.

The new coach is a younger girl that I don’t know all that well.

At first I was a bit worried as she wasn’t doing a lot of “coaching” (in the sense of teaching me what to do).

She kept throwing me into positions I wasn’t really familiar with.  Without any training in the lead up to the match.

I felt a bit like a fish out of water from all directions.

BUT…

I think she was just taking a few weeks to find her feet and get her head around her team.

One of the hardest things about coaching our grade is that you don’t get to pick and choose based on positions.

You simply get the “leftovers” after the other teams have selected.  You could end up with all goalies or all centre-court players.  So it takes a bit of mixing and matching to try and figure out combinations of players that work well.

We have a really nice team this year.  There haven’t been as many changes in players as previous years so not sure if that’s why.  We just seem to all get along and encourage one another.  And one particular player who has returned after a few years off is an absolute character which stops us (okay, me) taking ourselves too seriously.

I still struggle with my lack of ability to play.

I’m not naturally sporty and I’m still really struggling to get my head around this game.

Although it did occur to me that while this is my 3rd season playing, my first 2 seasons were only half seasons so it’s really only my 2nd season.

Which does make me feel marginally better.  Unfortunately, only marginally (I’m my own worst enemy - I know).

I’ve been playing a mixture of the centre-court positions this year.  Mostly half a game in centre and a quarter in either wing-defense or wing-attack.

Last Saturday was a big milestone for me.

I played my first full game ever.

Not only that but I played 3 of the quarters in Centre.

And it was a very physical game too!

Surprisingly, I pulled up okay.

But I was pretty tired by the end of the game.

And what did the coach tell me?

I didn’t play a brilliant game but I did play a consistent one.

While I’d love to play a “brilliant” game, I think “consistent” is about all I can expect.

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.