Meet the Newman Family. Mum Emma is the event coordinator for next year's Centenary. Her daughters started off playing netball at futureFERNS. Alice now 13 plays for the CGHS Year 9A team and Molly, 15, plays for the CGHS Senior A team.

We asked them a few questions about their journey so far with netball.

CNC: Emma, when did you first decide to get the girls into netball or did they express an interest in playing? 

Emma: It was post quakes and Molly was 7 years old and had a lovely new friend Lucy at school.  It turns out her Mum Mandy Anderson knew a bit about netball and was working with building a relationship between Elmwood Primary school with her club Marist. She asked me would Molly like to play. The last time I had played Netball was third form so I had NO clue about the sport and the new ways of doing things. Molly loved it and loved playing with her mates. To be honest it was something really positive after the earthquakes too. Then Alice came along and I felt confident to do some coaching along with another Mum.  Elmwood's sports leader Jane Small was very helpful and supportive and I went along to the future ferns coaching sessions at CNC. Learning about A, D C and 6 aside and when C can be on and off the court! as well as the different drills. Quite a new approach.

CNC: What do you think their interest was driven by?

Emma: Molly just adored playing with her friends and then my second daughter Alice happily wanted to follow into it as well. Don't get me wrong they loved competing and winning (event at their young ages) but being with her friends was the key. We were careful not to be too pushy but they both enjoyed it and it turned out so did my husband and I.

CNC: How did you find out about competitions in Christchurch and what they offered.

Emma: School and Marist were great about keeping coaches and families in the loop about what was going on at CNC. The rainbow tournaments were great fun over the years too. 

Also I have to acknowledge that futureFERNS does mean there was genuinely more times that the girls touched the ball. I was skeptical at first about it not being 7 aside but I think it does provide the basic skills in an easier to understand format up to year 5-6.  

Help with being a coach with training and the drills did help. I won't lie sometimes there was the temptation to start the girls specialising in positions early on (A C and D) as you could see some were better at different roles but I don't actually think it had held them back now as they are older.

My final comment is sport always comes back to people and honestly our family of four have ALL benefited from being involved in our girls' sport. We have all made new friends and I now have a passion for children in netball and  have the confidence to be on our school club committee with my husband. As a non player I never ever thought I would have the courage to do this! I would love to see more community engagement and of course money being made available for grass roots netball and other sports including the Future Ferns programme so fund raising isn't as necessary.

CNC: Alice and Molly, what are your first memories of playing netball?

Alice: I remember playing with my friends and i was shooter and i got a shot in super far away, everyone was so happy!!

Molly: My first memories of playing netball was my first ever practice I had with my team. All my friends gathered on the court and we passed the ball around. We tried to play a game of half court netball but it was chaos. I loved it though.

CNC: Growing up have you followed certain players domestically or internationally?

Alice: We’ve been to lots of Tactix games and it’s really fun to get together with our team and support. i used to always look up to my sister and her team too.

Molly: Not necessarily following but I always loved watching the Tactix play at Horncastle Arena and supporting them. So awesome.

CNC: Have you had any ambitions growing up?

Alice: I’ve always wanted to get into a great team and try my best to get into those teams.

Molly: The Silver Ferns were a team I always looked up to and hoped I could play for one day, but as I grew older, my school A teams were what I aspired and worked hard to get in to.

CNC: What's has been your most memorable achievement so far?

Alice: Being very lucky and getting into all A teams to date has been great. 

Molly: In my primary school as Year 6 I won the Netball Player of my year which was pretty awesome and junior years of high school got netball achievement awards. In my year 10 netball team at CGHS we came second out of the whole South Island which was a very memorable achievement! On top of this a pretty massive achievement for me was to get into my school’s Senior A team as a year 11.

CNC: What do you like most about playing netball?

Alice: I like getting exercise and playing with my friends.

Molly: Netball, as it is a team sport, gives such a massive opportunity to make new friends. Whether it be playing for a club or a school team you make life long friends. I also love the competitiveness of it, the team environment and the overall fun.

CNC: And what do you like most about coming down to the courts on a Saturday?

Alice: I like coming down and seeing everybody get together over a sport and having fun.

Molly: Just to see everyone enjoy themselves. I also love supporting my school’s teams with my mum. We have 22 teams in our school and there is always a team to support. My sister also plays on a Saturday, so it’s awesome seeing how her games go and how she improves. But Covid is a bit of a pain at the moment.

CNC: What would you say to any child wanting to play netball as their sport?

Alice: Have fun with your friends and try your hardest!

Molly: Have fun and try your hardest! It’s such an awesome game to get into, you make so many friends and memories so have a go!

As Mum, Emma, said afterwards, it was amazing for her to read how similar her girls answers were. It's great to see the importance of having fun and making friends coming through. 

Thank you so much!

Article added: Friday 11 September 2020