Meriden’s Netball teams will be upping the ante in the Term 3 IGSSA Netball Competition, with a new uniform and an elite coach overseeing their performance.
Meriden has entered twenty-two teams in the upcoming tournament and Suncorp Super Netball player and training partner, Toni Anderson, will be developing a new training pathway for the girls as they face their peers in the notoriously tough Saturday morning competition.
Miss Anderson said on-court success comes down to having a strong foundation.
“My main focus for the girls’ training program for the IGSSA competition focuses on nailing basic skills,” she said.
“This involves working on movement around the court so players are spatially aware of their surroundings, teaching them how to attack the ball efficiently to lose any defenders and encouraging teamwork by utilising basic structures to deliver an easy ball to the goal. With these skills under their belts, the girls will be better equipped to handle high-pressure situations during games,” Miss Anderson said.
“Most importantly, though, my goal is to help build strong teams of girls who work hard and support each other on the court; often the best on-court performance comes from the closest team.”
Emily Ormes, Year 12 student and one of three Meriden Netball Captains, said she loves the athletic and social opportunities provided by the sport.
“Playing netball throughout my years at Meriden has improved my overall fitness and has given me the chance to learn to be a team player while developing my leadership skills,” she said.
“The main message I would like to share with the Meriden teams is to try your best, be a good sport and, above all, enjoy the competition.”
Coach Toni Anderson, currently plays for the national netball league team, the GWS Giants. She has recently returned to Australia after a year in the United Kingdom, where she completed her 2018 season playing in the Vitality Netball Superleague. Toni was a member of the Australian Netball World Youth Cup Squad in 2016-17; a Replacement Player for the Adelaide Thunderbirds in 2016; and she was in the Netball Centre of Excellence Residential Program/Touring Party in 2015, the same year in which she was named Most Valuable Player in the Under 19s Australian National Team.
This term, Meriden’s high-performing Netball teams will debut the School’s new Netball uniform, which was designed in 2018 as part of a review aimed at making all Meriden’s sports uniforms align with the needs of student-athletes.
