District netball to the fore
Published 30 Nov 2012 09:30
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IT has taken almost three years and a huge amount of development and mentoring work, but the first District squad representing all four netball clubs, Peebles, Berwickshire, Hawick and Earlston, was launched last month.
Until this season, Border District squads have comprised only Peebles Netball players and achieved huge successes lifting Scottish titles at both U15 and U17 age groups.
However, new rules from the governing body in 2010 meant that within two years District squads had to involve members from more than one club and/or school or would not be permitted to play.
Despite no development help from elsewhere, and with netball not even played in high schools across the Borders, Peebles Netball officials were left with no option but to take on the vast Borders netball development task voluntarily themselves.
They started in 2010 with a netball festival which they held in Galashiels for P7s from which they selected promising players, and started an intensive programme of coaching.
From that start they set up a competition structure and attracted invaluable sponsorship for this, the highly successful Aitken Turnbull Border League. Gradually four separate netball clubs evolved as volunteers came forward to get involved.
As netball now heads into its third full season Border-wide we are celebrating four thriving junior netball clubs, each bursting to capacity, with regular fixtures within and outwith the Borders.
New umpires have been qualified and new coaches and team managers become involved. Netball has become a core sport for girls across several Borders high schools.
Peebles coach Linda Nicholson and Peebles team manager Lynn Hudson agreed to take on the coaching and team management of the first Border-wide U15 District squad with Karen McKinlay (Berwickshire Netball) taking on the role of District umpire.
Following trials a long squad was selected in June. Training and fitness programmes followed, with the short squad finalised in September.
Linda said: "Coaching and managing a squad with players spread so far geographically is a huge operational challenge.
@Our main difficulty lies with bringing the players together regularly for training, particularly in winter weather.
"However, we are all delighted that all four clubs now have District representation which can only be good for raising standards and aspiration for girls in sport in the region."
The U15 District squads in Scotland come together for three play days through the year before competing in the Scottish District championships in March 2013.
Borders have been placed automatically amongst the top seeded Districts.
In four warm up matches at the first play day Borders results showed promise: Borders 12, Renfrew 7; Borders 16, Edinburgh 16; Borders 9, South Lanarkshire 12; Borders 11, Glasgow 26.
The next play day is on December 8 in Glasgow where Borders will come up against Fife, Angus and Glasgow again.
U15 District squad: Kerri Dow (Peebles) (Capt), Cassie Murdoch (Hawick) (Vice Capt), Lauren Neville (Earlston), Lynsey Robertson (Earlston), Lindsay Maguire (Earlston), Emily Runciman (Berwickshire), Claire Gray (Berwickshire), Chloe Thomson (Hawick), Iben McMillan (Hawick), Sarah Hudson (Peebles), Alana Craigmile (Peebles), Gemma Gass (Peebles), Shevaun Smith (Peebles).
This article appeared in Peeblesshire News 30 Nov 12
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