These guidelines are provided to assist coaches in managing team participation throughout the season.
- Teams are formed each season according to age, skill level, team balance and where possible, player preference, using the team formation policy for Highvale Netball Club.
- Once formed, it is important that all members of the team are treated fairly and able to participate fully in the success of the team.
- For all age groups, participation, enjoyment, and skill development for the benefit of the player and the team are very important. A win should never be at the expense of fair participation for all players in the team.
- It is recommended that a parent is asked to become team manager, to assist with the reminders to the team, create a roster for captaincy and help on game day if required.
- If preferred, the coach can complete the captain’s roster. This must be available before round 1 and preferably the week you receive your team’s squad card.
Squad Cards
- A copy of the squad card will be provided by the Committee at least 1 week before the first training session. This is confidential and should not be shared with your team.
- A copy of the squad card should be kept in the netball bag for emergency parent contact if required.
- 15 & Under, 17 & Under coaches need to check that the contact you have for each player includes a parent/guardian contact.
Player Availability
- Coaches should keep records of player availability and attendance at training.
- It is expected that all players in junior teams will attend training regularly. Exceptions will only be made after discussion with the Coach and Committee.
- If a team will have less than 7 players for a match, the coach should contact the Coach Co-ordinator to discuss the options available and actions to be taken.
- This may include:
- Borrowing a player from another team playing in the same section or lower section.
- Asking a player from another team playing in the same section or lower section to play a second game (only if they will be a 5th, 6th or 7th player).
- Sourcing a fill in from outside the club (in which case a club uniform will need to be borrowed and returned at the end of the match).
- Any borrowed or fill in player must have paid their Netball Victoria membership (annual or single game) and their details must be recorded on the back and front of the score card.
Court Time
It is club policy that all players shall share equal court time across the season and within the game wherever possible.
Matches where a player is unavailable shall not count for calculation of that players court time. In practice, this means:
- If there are more than seven players available for a match, player rotations will be required to ensure every player has a chance to participate in the match.
- Common rotations with different number of players are:
- 8 players – 4 player full game, 4 players 3 quarters
- 9 players – 1 player full game, 8 players 3 quarters
- 10 players – 8 players 3 quarters, 2 players a half
- The coach must ensure that rotations are equitable and comply with the club policy of even court time across the season. This means that a player should not get half a game, or a full game every match. An easy way to ensure this is to give the full game to the captain each week.
- Rotations should be planned ahead of the match and recorded so as to keep track of court time and positions.
- Parents or players can view the records on request.
Finals
It is club policy that every player will play a minimum of half a game in all finals matches.
- Finals matches can be very different in intensity and atmosphere to home-and-away matches.
- All available players who have contributed to the team’s success in reaching finals must participate in the match.
- It is recommended that prior to the finals match (ideally after qualification and / or at training) the coach discusses with the team whether they want the normal equal participation rotations or whether the team is “playing to win” which may mean some/ more players playing a half, whilst others play the full match. The coach should be guided by the decision, however the final decision about positional rotations is theirs.
- Rotations should be planned prior to the match so as to retain team balance and ensure that every player plays at least half the match.
Playing Positions
9 & Under, 11 &Under, 13& Under Teams
It is club policy that all players in these age groups will rotate through all court positions, so that across the season they have the opportunity to play every position at least once.
Highvale Netball Club participates in the Saturday competition run by Waverley Night Netball Association. For the Under 9 and 11 sections there are no season finals although ladders are kept for the season matches. A Round Robin is played at the end of the season.
This is done for a number of reasons:
- To provide for solid skill development in each area of the court.
- For players to experience the range of positions on court.
- For players to understand the rules that apply in different situations.
- To allow for the differing pace of skill development which occurs.
- To prevent “pigeon holing” players into positions because of their size or current skill levels.
- It is proven that repeated exposure to new things is the best way to learn and retain learnings.
By late 13 & Under, it is expected that players will be consolidating into 2-3 preferred court positions that match their skills and abilities and enhance the team performance
Highvale Netball Club fully supports this approach to junior age netball. It is expected that players in all sections of the Under 9 and 11 competition have the opportunity throughout the season to rotate in all court positions.
To avoid confusion on match day, it is best to have your position rotations worked out for each game beforehand, including rotating additional players on and off the court. You should discuss this with your team at training so that they expect to be rotated.
As the coach, you will need to work out the most effective way to rotate your players – changing positions every quarter can be very confusing, particularly with children very new to the game and unsure of court positions. It is ideal to keep a record of the positions played by each player to ensure they all have an opportunity to try different positions throughout the season.
15 & Under, 17& Under and Open Teams
It is club policy that players in these teams will tend to be settled into more defined positions or areas of the court. Players should be encouraged to play a minimum of 2-3 positions across the season and continue to experience different areas of the court where possible.
- Players and coaches in these age groups have a much better understanding of both their strengths and the team requirements, so players tend to be settled into more defined positions or position rotations e.g. defence, attack, mid-court.
- It is still important to encourage a breadth of skills across the team and the ability to move between positions so that player absences and rotations do not impact the balance and performance of the team.
- Some players do not have a final growth spurt until they are 15+ and it is hard to tell which area of the court they are best suited to until they stop growing.
Teams playing in age groups with finals
There is additional pressure on coaches to play a “winning” team combination during home and away matches to qualify for finals participation.
- Although it is exciting to qualify for finals, it is still very important to give all players the opportunity to continue with their skill development and experience different positions on the court.
- Ensure each player involved in finals has played a minimum of 4 games for the team.
- The coach must determine the best mix of skills and rotations to keep the team balanced and competitive but still offer players the opportunity to play in different positions.
- It is important to develop team depth, so that player absences or rotating players on and off court won’t affect the overall balance and performance of the team.
- It is still important to give players the opportunity to play other positions from time to time to extend their understanding of the game of netball and how the different roles interact to form a cohesive whole.
Fair Participation
For all age groups, participation, enjoyment, and skill development for the benefit of the player and the team are very important. A win should never be at the expense of fair participation for all players in the team.
REG NO. A0019001H
