Netball
Foundation-
Netball officers: Link schools with premier league teams to encourage participation
- Provide workshops
- Young umpire award 14+
- Linking schools with clubs
- Advertise school team for competition
Year 6 and below, boys and girls will play under 11
Schools
PE lessons
FUNdaimentals teachers refer students on to it (satellite academy)
Creative and enjoyable techniques
Attack and defence techniques Basic court and formations
Variations on the game to develop basic skills (high 5)
After foundation level, England netball doesn’t support male participation.
Strength: There is lots of different opportunities that allows everyone to practice and improve skills to learn the basic skills of netball. For example the schools will link with clubs, there’s workshops for people to participate in and after school clubs and competitions.
Weaknesses: After primary school, male netball players won’t be supported by England netball so they will have to find a club to join and won’t get funding for it. This can be a problem as it can cause male netballers to be disheartened and not want to continue playing netball due to costs.
Participation-
- Pass on your passion= voluntary, leadership and rewards
- After school clubs and teams
- Traditional 7 a side netball
- High 5 netball
- Fast net= 5 positions, 3 marking zones, tournament, swap players when you want, 4×6 minute + 2 minute interval
- Referred from school or club to county academy
Strengths: As there is a number of different types of netball games, it gives people an opportunity to find a game they like and pursue it. For example, they may have only played traditional 7-a-side netball, whereas now they have the opportunity to try high 5 netball and fast net. There is also more opportunities to play.
Weaknesses: Only a select few will be referred to a county academy
Performance level-
- Netball leagues= 1 heat league
- County and regional competition
- Traditional 7 a side netball
- High 5 netball
- Fast hit: 5 positions, 3 scoring zones, faster games, switch players throughout the game whenever, 4×6 min + 2 min interval
Excel performance pathway
Intensive netball training centre
National academy
Regional performance academy
Regional academy
County academy
Satellite academy
National performance league:
10 team aged 14-19
Players are in the same pathway to become NSL players
Each team plays each other once
Strengths: There’s different leagues for them, so it gives the athlete a better chance at reaching their full potential and improving their skill.
Weaknesses: As the programs are designed for individuals, it will be harder for the individual to bond with the team. They will be used to training/playing individually and may have never met the people they will be playing with.
Elite
Opportunities:
National 1
Regional national leagues
Summer camps
UK sport events
England netball (U17, U19, U21, England squad)
Premiership league
Premiership league
Prem 1- 2006/2007
Prem 2- 2006/2007
Prem 3- 2010/2011
Running since 2006/2007. It’s the highest level of club netball in the country
- Oldham- prem 1 standing
- Tameside- prem 2 standing
- Kent country- prem 3 standings
Performance elite pathways
Intensive netball training (England U21 training, Brunel uni, Bath uni, Manchester tri-site)
National academy (U19, U17 England squad athletes)
Regional academy (U19 regional athletes, 9 regions)
County academy (14-16, local)
Satellite academy (first step England pathway for elite 11-14 years)
Strength: There’s regular camps and weekend training sessions so it makes it easier for people to fit training around their lifestyle. This is good espically for people who are in full time education/work full time.
Weaknesses: As it can take a long time to progress through the stages, it can be boring and often tiring. This could cause the individual to get bored and not want to continue playing if they aren’t progressing as fast as they want to be.
Hockey
Foundation level: grass roots, basic skills learnt, basic knowledge of the rules, PE lessons, after school club, hockey camps (stickwise)
Mass participation, not competitive, forced participation (mainly in PE lessons/don’t get a choice of sport)
Strengths: The younger everyone starts playing- the more likely they are to stick with it when they are older. They will also pick it up quicker and have a better knowledge of the rules and find it more enjoyable.
Weakness: If done in a PE lesson, don’t get the option to try a different sport
Participation level: development of the rules and skills- tactics, formations, more rules. School/college team or outside clubs will be joined (chose to play)
More competitive than foundation level but still not very competitive
Focus on improving skills, becomes more of a hobby fun, keep fit etc.
Strengths: There is a lot more opportunities to develop and improve skills and performance, it’s also more competitive than foundation level which can give individuals a better experience of playing competitive hockey.
Weakness: If an individual enjoys playing hockey, they may want to join a club outside of school- but it may be a problem with transport, and it may not always be played in a PE lesson.
Performance level: skills and performance levels increased, highly competitive, dedicated training
England hockey single system-
JDC (junior development centre)
JAC (junior academy centre) – County level
JRPC (junior regional performance centre)
Tier 2 (regional)
NAGS (national age squad)
Advance through each one, for people aged 13-18 years old
Strengths: There is more time to train which can help the individual improve their skills and help them focus on their game play including tactics and technical skills.
Weakness: Dedicated training would be required which could be a problem for people who work full time. They would have to choose between training or working.
Elite level: NAGS- national highly competitive, professional players and coaches. Advance into U21s national squad and compete in international tournament. England’s men’s/women’s is top performance and change of lifestyle- change of diet (nutritionist) physio and psychologists (for support and health)
Strengths: There is different health benefits such as a physio and a nutritionist-which can help improve their skills in the game.
Weakness: Only a few selected players will make it to the elite stage, which can be upsetting for people who have put so much time into training.
Tennis
Foundation- at foundation level the LTA believe in encouraging people to take up the sport and discover basic movements such as: throwing, catching, hitting and jumping
Other key skills that will be developed at this stage include balance and coordination
However the main aim is to have fun and play tennis
Example schemes: The great British tennis weekend- this tennis clubs and coaches allow people to come play tennis for free. It is available for all ages and all equipment is provided. In 2014 these were held on the weekends in May, June and July. This is to be repeated in 2015.
-PE lessons and after school clubs are held in many schools across the country
-cardio tennis, this is good scheme for people of all ages who have never played before. It is a workout that includes very basic tennis skills.
Strengths: At foundation level you can learn all the basic skills in tennis, and you are able to play for free at the Great British Tennis Weekend, which can give individuals the chance at experiencing tennis competitions.
Weaknesses: The correct tennis facilities may not always be available to play tennis at a young age, so they may have to wait till they can get to a certain age till they can play.
Participation- local tennis leagues are set up across the country. There are now over 60 leagues nationwide. These box leagues are free to enter and provide great opportunities to meet new people and improve your game.
-these leagues can be entered by anyone wanting to play of any standard and provide the perfect springboard for a career in tennis
-tennis LEA rankings can start here and allow players to see there progression as a number and easily find someone of the same standard to play with and enter the correct tournament
LTA rating system
Once becoming a British tennis member you can have an LTA rating. The lowest is 10.2 then 10.1 then 9.2 then 9.1 and so one down to the 1.1
4 qualifying wins brings a player down by 0.1
Strengths: Box leagues are free to enter so beneficial to anyone without a lot of money- or anyone who wants to play but dosent want to pay money.
Weaknesses: Local tennis leagues don’t offer coaching or run leagues for children. This means that children who want to play tennis wouldnt be able to have a tennis coach.
Performance- AEGON county cup- this gives players the opportunities to represent their county in the team competitions.
Road to Wimbledon- for players 14 and under there is a British tennis tournament
For stronger rated players (6.2) (or higher) there is a HSBC road to Wimbledon international events.
Strengths: Involves all age ranges, so any one can get involved and play.
Weaknesses: Need to dedicate training sessions in order to progress in tennis and improve your performance- which may be tiring and can cost a lot of money for transport, equipment, coaches, clothing etc.
Elite- The highest level of support given by the LTA (lawn tennis association) is a 12 month funding agreement and athletes are allowed access to the national tennis centre. They can also receive funding for their coaching.
-National talent 10 days are run twice a year to select the highest performing tennis players in Britain
Strengths: Receive funding for coaching so won’t have to pay for it themselves.
Weaknesses: National talent is only run twice a year, so it may be harder for individuals to attend (travel, college, work, money etc.)
Foundation stage
Between the foundation levels of netball, hockey and tennis all the sports are based around learning the basic fundamentals of the sport and learning about the basic rules of it. The 3 sports are also done in PE lessons where there is little competitiveness or competition. However, with tennis it may be harder to play in PE lessons as the facilities may not be available in the school grounds.
The progress between the foundation and participation for netball is a lot easier for girls than boys. This is because after the foundation stage, Sport England doesn’t support male netballers. However, for girls it is easy as in they will be able to enter teams. After school clubs and competitions whilst progressing their skills in the game.
The progress between the foundation and participation level for hockey is similar to netball, but it’s just as easy for boys to progress as it is for girls. There is more chances to improve skills and it becomes more of a hobby-this is because it is played less in school as some other sports, so if an individual wants to continue, they may have to find a club outside of school in order to continue the sport. The only difference between hockey and netball progression is that it is harder to progress in hockey as it isn’t publicized as much as the other 2 sports which can have a negative effect on anyone who wants to continue playing hockey.
The progress between the foundation and participation stage level for tennis is again similar to the other 2 sports. It’s similar to hockey as it has equal chances and opportunities for both genders to progress. There is different opportunities to play and improve within the sport, such as the great British tennis weekend.
Participation stage
Majority of athletes who are wanting to move to the performance level, they would have joined a club and play/train regularly. The athletes would have wider knowledge on the sport including skills, rules, tactics and formations. Although it isn’t as competitive as the performance stage, it is more competitive than the foundation stage. The sport becomes more of a hobby.
Progression between participation and performance for netball involves a number of opportunities. Training becomes a regular thing, and the main focus is training yourself to join the netball excel pathway.
Progression between participation and performance for hockey is slightly different to netball. It gives the athlete the opportunity to develop an in-depth of the sport and the athlete can develop their skills and performance.
Progression between participation and performance for tennis is different, and can be more difficult to progress through. Different leagues are set up in order to help the athlete play and improve their skill and get a LTA rating. This can be difficult as you may be good at tennis, but your rating could be higher up than other individuals. However, for children who want to improve their tennis skills, the LTA doesn’t run any leagues for them, so it will be even more difficult for them to progress through. It is also difficult to progress through as it can be an expensive sport to play, so this can be a setback for wannabe professional
Performance stage
The performance stage is for players who are wanting to play for a higher team/league. All 3 sports require the athlete to have dedicated training which is around 20 hours. It gives the athlete a chance to enter a league and represent their county. There is also less people in this stage than the other 2.
To progress from the performance stage to the elite stage in netball requires the player to progress through the netball excel pathway. To progress through this they would need to be playing at a high standard and making progress in their skills and techniques. The programs in the netball excel pathway focus on the individual reach their full potential and gives them opportunity to play at a higher level.
To progress from the performance stage to the elite stage in hockey it requires the individual to attend trails for England hockey single system. During these trails, if they believe the individual is playing at a high standard they will be selected to play at a county level. This can then give the individual the opportunity to train with a professional coach and they are able to train more.
To progress from the performance stage to the elite stage in tennis there is different opportunities in which the individual can take up. There is the AEGON county cup which can give the individual the chance to represent their county. For tennis players who are rated 6.2 and higher there is HSBC road to Wimbledon which can lead to international events.
Elite stage
Out of all 3 sports, only a small amount of athletes will get to the elite stage. This stage is the top of the continuum. The athletes will be playing professionally and have professional coaching. In order to stay in this stage, the athlete must continue to train regularly and ensure they are always playing at a high standard.
The elite stage in netball can give the individual chances to enter different leagues and play national and regional leagues and can progress through the performance elite pathway. This can give them the opportunity to play for the England squad.
The elite stage in hockey means the individual gets professional coaching which is the same as netball. The individual gets the chance to advance into the U21s national and international squad.
The elite stage in tennis means the individual can receive a 12 month funding which allows them to access the national tennis centre. They can also get funding for coaching as tennis is an expensive sport to play.
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