While netball in NSW would be nothing without its army of volunteers who hit the courts on week nights and weekends, there is another incredibly important – and often overlooked – cog in the netty wheel: the development officer.
Diana Photi, Emily Robinson, Jessica Bowden, Bronnee Loy and Alex McNeil are five of Netball NSW’s finest “DO’s” who ply their trade not just in the school and club spaces, but also on court in the DOOLEYS Metro League and the Origin Energy Premier League.
To say the officers are passionate about what they do would be an understatement.
“The best thing about being a Development Officer for Netball NSW is seeing the growth in the skills of netball at grassroots level,” Bowden says.
“There is an exhilarating feeling watching kids learn new skills and progress over weeks of fun exercises and drills or in just one session. It always an amazing experience to coach children of all cultures and gender and share the love and passion of netball.”
And while all five have the pleasure of introducing some of the netball community’s youngest players to the game, at the pointy end they also see the fruits of years of development work.
“Having the opportunity to compete in the Metro League competition each week gives me greater insight into the wider netball community, as many Associations come together to play each week,” McNeil says.
“It also inspires me to keep striving to better my own skills, which in turn I can pass on in my delivery of programs as a development officer. Being involved in the Netball NSW pathway helps me to better understand and promote these opportunities to the up-and-coming generation in the hope they can enjoy it as much as I do.”
Dual Premier and Metro League player Robinson, who has been working as development officer for over eight years, says the role is vital to ensure netball remains front and centre of a hugely competitive sports market across NSW.
“Development Officers are so important in getting the sport of netball out into schools and the community,” she says.
“Kids now have access to such a wide range of sports and having netball prominent in the school settings is key to keeping participation numbers high and as a fun sport choice.
"Netball develops such important general skills in people such as throwing, catching, game sense and teamwork.
“Being a Metro and Premier League player helps me pass some of the knowledge and first-hand experience from playing at a higher level to the younger generation. I can draw from a bigger range of drills and games to help develop skills and inspire people.”
And it’s a sentiment which is shared by Bowden.
“I have been grateful to receive a high-level of professional coaching through my Premier League career and my experience has pushed my love of coaching.
“The skills, drills and knowledge I have learnt has given me the greatest tool box to teach the next generation.
“I am able to relate to them as a current player and share knowledge and competitiveness of being a part of the Premier League competition.”
For Photi, playing regularly in the Metro League enables her to give an all-encompassing view of the game to those taking it up for the first time.
“The best thing about being a Development Officer at Netball NSW is being able to meet a wide range of students that have either never played netball before or are more skilled and eager to learn new skills,” she says.
“I enjoy the interaction with all different school and community members and being able to help grow our sport.
“The most rewarding aspect to me is seeing how confident the young children become with a little bit of encouragement and coaching. It is amazing how much they learn in a small amount of time and they return each week with a big smile wanting to learn more.”
Loy, who plays in Premier League, is embracing her place as a role model in the netball community.
“It is so important as it allows us players the opportunity to share our experience and knowledge on being a great player.
“Not only skill wise, as well being a leader and great teammate. It brings a handful of advantages, the main one being we are able to bring to the court a different type of session compared to what they (the participants) perhaps are normally used to.
“We’re used to training extremely hard and we know what it takes to be a strong athlete, but we also know what we like, and we also like to have fun so to be able to entice the fun component with the growth in skills is a massive advantage to schools involved! Students are more likely to enjoy the sport and participate outside of classes!”
Well played all, and here is to more of the same for the years to come.
WANT TO JOIN OUR TEAM?
Are you interested in inspiring the next generation of Netballers to excel in the sport you love? We are currently recruiting more Development Officers and we would love to hear from you. Head to https://nsw.netball.com.au/careers-netball-nsw for more information and apply now!
