Netball

This year has been unusual for netball at St Dunstan’s. We started Michaelmas term with caution, running some netball shooting clinics which had regular attendees from Year 7 up to Year 10 with the hope that we would return to game play after the Christmas Exeat. Unfortunately, this was not the case. With another lockdown in action the school went back into remote learning, as did netball. We used Firefly to challenge our netballers to isolate and develop some personal player skills, including how we change direction, landing skills, agility, ball skills, core strength, turning in the air and ball handling. Throughout these 8 weeks both Lili Rieb-Smith and Natalie Bloomer put forward some innovative ideas on the development of the online programme. They were also integral in creating a virtual team environment and the senior netball squads and staff thoroughly enjoyed some team bonding and social sessions. Then came the return to school. With three weeks left of Lent term the focus was on reintegration and fun. The first week was a whirlwind of netballbased game play sessions, followed by two weeks of normal games and training sessions. In this time, we saw the competitive side to our netballers for House matches, giving staff the opportunity to see the enormous potential in many of our young players. There were mixed results across the board with some excellent displays of netball, sportsmanship and teamwork from all students who represented their House. With an abrupt end to our unconventional netball term, we have been fortunate to be able to run summer netball training and development sessions alongside our cricket programme. The number of pupils attending after school has been immense especially in Years 7, 8, 9 and those dedicated Year 10s, with a special mention to the boys who have attended training to develop their skills and understanding of the game. Although training has been

a fantastic opportunity to progress, there is nothing like healthy competition to bring out the best in our players. The Seniors played challenging but enjoyable matches against the Sixth Form girls at Langley Park Boys School, showing grit and confidence on and off the court. The Seniors took on the challenge ahead, put into practice what we had been doing in training and worked well in lots of different combinations, which was impressive. The rest of the school played an exciting Saturday morning block fixture against some of Beacons Netball Club Academy Teams, and this was incredible! The weather held out, so students, staff, umpires and coaches enjoyed every moment of the morning with nothing but positive feedback and praise to all, especially for those who played in their first ever netball match! Although it was disappointing not having spectators, we know that it is just a taste of what is to come for our netballers moving through the school. Lastly, we celebrated the end of the season during the St Dunstan’s Festival with an internal mixed rugby and netball 7’s tournament – an exciting day of sport, with lots of students participating in mixed boys’ and girls’ teams. Thank you to all the staff and students, especially Lili and Natalie, for all your hard work this year and throughout your St Dunstan’s journey. It has been a challenging year but we have pushed through and come out the other side together. Whilst the captain of the senior team for next year has not yet been named, we have some outstanding students coming through whom we are extremely excited about, watch this space! Well done everyone and enjoy your summer break.

Miss McKay-Pryce

Coordinator of Netball