Regardless of results at next weekend’s Netball NSW State Championships, the Forbes association’s 17 years team will return home from the carnival older and wiser.
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The nine-member team, coached by Tamara Hawken, will compete in division three of their age group at the June 6-8 carnival, hosted by Illawarra and District Netball Association.
The Forbes team includes a mix of last year’s side and graduates of the 2014 15 years and under squad.
Tamara Hawken said the team has improved, and matured, beyond all expectations this season and she is looking forward to seeing how they perform next weekend.
“I’m really hoping they can pull off a good result. They’ve all just got really involved in training this year and worked really hard on their fitness and their skills,” she said.
Tamara said despite two team members living outside Forbes, the group has worked together well and shown maturity on and off the court. Team members have shown initiative and give honest, but respectful feedback to their fellow players and coach.
“One of the amazing things I’ve noticed is that the girls are able to say ‘this is why that didn’t work - I can see that myself’,” she said.
“I can really see how their problem-solving on the court has improved. For a group of 16-year-olds I think that’s a really big achievement - that they are not having to be told all the time.
“They are taking on responsibility and have respect for each other.”
The State Championships will be contested in nine divisions - two grades for opens, one division for 21 years and under, 17 and under across three divisions and masters, which takes in over 35s, over 40s and over 45s. More than 70 associations and 131 teams will be represented from around the state.
The Forbes team will play up to 23 shorter-format games over three days, with likely competitors including Muswellbrook, Leeton, Mt Druitt, Young, Cowra, Bathurst and West Wyalong among others.
Tamara is in her third year of coaching the 17 years group and said the girls have overcome obstacles, like being unable to train together week-by-week.
“We are learning things at training but not everybody can be at training all the time, but the way they’ve kept that rapport up, you wouldn’t even know that some of them don’t know each other that well,” she said.
Tamara said with eight games a day, the pace of the carnival would be frantic. “I don’t even play and I’m exhausted.”
Team members are Sarah Meacham, Courtney Ward, Sarah Simmonds, Sophie Hurford, Jess Zieltjes, Monica Pascoe, Brooke Howarth, Leah Byrnes, Elysse Girot-Serplet, and Forbes Netball Association umpire Eliza Woods.
