netballer.

I’ve been a netballer for six years- four in secondary school, and this is my second year in college. Funny how time flies.

It might not have been like this. I joined netball only because there was no other sport for girls in clementi town. How about that? I might have been somebody else.

And I, used to dislike netball… haha. I thought it was for bimbos to prance around in short frilly skirts. haha. That impression didn’t last very long.

Netball is a graceful game. It’s a tough one too. There’s a certain beauty in playing it, in watching it. How can I describe what goes on? The speed of the attack, the fury of defense… lean and lanky girls throwing long lobs, the smaller ones darting in and out. It’s a dance on the court, it’s a celebration of the physical, it’s the drama of fourteen bodies performing in sync.

Yeah there are other perks in being a netballer. To quote Kamil [who left for the states this year] as to why it’s good being a netballer, it’s “coz netballerz have great tan lines, nice buttz n they’re hot! Like duh!”
We have our supporters. grin.

The training’s tough though. In clementi town, we had to wake up early every Saturday morning. Reach school by eight. No being late! Yuyin would glare at you otherwise.
Warm up: 10 rounds [the field], with ankle weights. There’d be medicine ball sometimes. [medicine balls, for you non-netballers, are roughly the size of basketballs and can weigh up to 10kg. Imagine running 10 rounds holding a 10kg ball]. Then 70 pushups , 70 sit ups and 1000 skips.
Ball passes: Basic passes with the medicine ball.
Drills: Simple ones at first, but they can really kill. There’s this one where your partner will throw a far side ball, and you’ll have to run and time your jump to catch it. Sounds easy? Try doing many repetitions under the scorching sun. Yeah there’re already complaints all around when one has to w.a.l.k in the sun to get out of school. Think of netballers when you’re complaining the next time. (:
Well there was court work after that, and finally a game.
Trainings were around 5 hours then… hot. Hot sun!

It takes real teamwork to get through these trainings… Perseverance, determination, lots and lots of encouragement to each other. It takes real teamwork on the court for that matter. Have faith that she’ll catch the ball, believe that she’ll throw a good pass to you, and trust your team implicitly. Because you are a team. It is as simple and as difficult as that.

This Friday might be the last time I wear a netball jersey. Soon this red and charcoal grey one will up carefully hung up in my cupboard, alongside my other what- eight jerseys? I don’t quite know how to feel. Can a netballer ever stop being a netballer? Guess I’ll find this out soon. It must be hard to say goodbye to six years of your life. I don’t quite know what to say. Except-

I’ve been a netballer for six years- four in secondary school, and this is my second year in college. Funny how time flies…