Bondi Netball

Bondi Phoenix Team Selection Policy Winter Season (at Randwick Netball Association, Heffron Park)

Bondi Phoenix Netball Club is an inclusive club that wants all members to play & train to the best of their ability.

As a relatively small club we normally have 1 or 2 teams in each age group.
We do not grade Net Set Go teams.
We grade teams from the 10s division onwards, in line with RNA.
We do our best to group players according to ability after they have attended our grading Sessions in February/March before the Winter Season.
For most players, this will mean playing with a group of girls of the same age and similar ability.
We group players according to ability, not friendship groups. However, because we are a small club it is likely that players will know at least a few of the players in their team. If they don’t, it’s a great chance for them to make new ones.
If there are only enough players for one team in an age group, all players will play together.
At grading, if there are some players whose ability out-shines those players in their age group. These girls will be given the opportunity to play and train in an older team.
If the club has too many players in one age group & not enough in the age above, we may give a younger player the opportunity to play in an older age group.
Players that join the club after grading has occurred will be given the opportunity to join a team as close to their age and ability as possible. However, they might need to play in an older age group if the lower one is full.
If a player is selected to play in a team older than their chronological age, we will consult with parents & player before making any final decisions.
Team selections also depend on players’ preferred positions. When creating the teams we need to make sure we have a balance of shooters, mid-court & defence. This will affect how teams are selected as we would not want a team full of defenders and no shooters.
When completing your daughter’s registration form, please consult with them about which positions they would like to be graded in. The Committee will assess their playing on the positions they grade in and place them in a team accordingly.
Grading will be conducted by a committee which will be a mix of current, past and external coaches.

Our ideal number of players in a team is 9 or 10. This gives us enough players to cope with illness and injury through the season as well as planned absences, without having too many players.

Grading

• ●  Grading occurs shortly after registrations have closed.

• ●  We expect all players wanting to play in the Winter Season to attend grading.

• ●  If you are unable to attend, please let us know as soon as possible and we might either watch your daughter playing in the Summer competition (if applicable) or we might ask them to attend a training session with a relevant team.

• ●  If you join the club after the Grading day, we would expect your daughter to attend a relevant training session before we place them in a team.

  In Winter, we play at Randwick Netball Association (RNA) at Heffron Park. This Association has numerous divisions in each age group. The size of the competition allows us to request that teams play in appropriate divisions with teams of similar ability. However, RNA does not always meet our requests!

  Individual Team Selection

  The club policy for how many quarters a girl plays is determined by several factors:

1. How many players in a squad & how many of them attend on game day. If there are 10

   players in their team:

   1. If all 10 of them attend match day, this means that 2 players will need to be

      off for 2 quarters in that game, the other 8 players will each have 1 quarter off. The girls having the 2 quarters off should be rotated each week so that each player will have a game with 2 Qs off over the season.

   2. If 9 players attend match day, 8 players will have 1 quarter off each and one player will play all 4 quarters (again this player should be rotated over the season).

   3. If 8 players attend match day, 4 players will have 1 quarter off and 4 players will play the whole game.

2. The above arrangements take a long time to plan and can all be thrown into disarray when last minute injuries/illnesses happen or when players do not attend without notice at all or arrive late to matches. The quick decisions needed when this happens don’t always end up with a fair decision as they have to be made so quickly.

3. With Covid still causing disruption to our everyday lives, we will expect that some games in the season will result in absences and players being expected to play full games and even fill in for other teams.

4. If your team has 11 players, it means there have to be too many changes during the game to keep consistency. The coach will ask parents at the start of the season to nominate a weekend off giving you the freedom to have a weekend away or attend Nan’s birthday without worrying about missing netball. If you do not request a game off, a date will be allocated to you.

5. While we do our best to give players the opportunity to play in their preferred positions, our experienced coaches might identify an opportunity for them to grow and develop in different positions. The great thing about netball is that all positions are crucial to the success of the team & no single position is more important than the other. It is important for all players to develop their skills so that they can improve all aspects of their game and contribute equally to the success of the team. We appreciate parents’ support in encouraging their child to do their best wherever they are played.

6. Injuries during a game will, obviously, impact the best laid plans.

7. Finals: If the team plays well enough to reach the finals (including preliminary finals) of the season, each player will play at least 2 quarters. The rest of the team selection will be at the discretion of the coach and dependent on how well players are performing in the game.

NetSetGo (NSG)

NetSetGo players are expected to play all positions so that they learn all aspects of the game of netball. It can be very confusing changing positions too frequently, therefore, the club’s policy is to rotate players over 3 weeks: shooting, mid-court & defence. E.g.

The above grid is only indicative and depending on absences & injuries as well as how many players in the squad.

Players will also take their share of time on the bench. Please read Point 1 of “Individual Team Selection” above.

As we are a small club, we often only have 1 team in this age group. This means that there will be a mix of ages in the team. We appreciate it can be daunting to see your 7 or 8 year old placed in a team with 9 year olds but NSG is designed to introduce players to the sport and gradually improve their skills in a fun and relaxed way. No scores are kept in NSG games.

Please see the guide to NSG for further information on the modified rules (yellow column).

https://nsw.netball.com.au/sites/nsw/files/2022-02/Netball%20NSW%20-%20Woolworths%20Ne tSetGO%20Modified%20Rules%20Resource.pdf
RNA have also adapted the above rules slightly & these can be found on their website.
You should also be aware that the umpires of NSG will coach the players as they umpire. E.g.

If a player is standing too close (within 4ft) to the player with the ball, rather than pulling the defender out of play for obstruction, the umpire will remind them to move further away, “WD you are too close, take a step back.” They might also pause the game if the players are too crowded to help them spread out.