Each region held its annual End of Season showcase of all the Local Authority Hubs across the country. Here’s how your Netball Development Officers had to say about the events.
Central South Wales – Sarah Palmer.
This year’s LA hub programme has seen many changes, namely the increase in the number of LA hubs operating across the Central South region, as well as the combining of Cardiff and Vale and Glamorgan Valleys to fall in line with Wales Netball’s strategic plan creating a Central South region. This season also saw newly formed coaching sessions for our LA hub workforce with a particular focus on skill development. It was lovely to see the time and effort put in from workforce and players alike in the recent Central South LA Hub showcase tournament, where players displayed a great skill set. The pathway most definitely seems to be working and I look forward to seeing many of these players continue their development within the Wales Netball pathway for years to come.
“Amazing netball displayed by Central South LA Hub teams on the weekend… A great day ?” – Bridgend U13 LA Hub Coach
“Privileged to play a part in their development, togetherness on and off the court. #Fabgirls” – Cardiff U13 LA Hub Coach
iIcredibly proud of how far these girls have come! It has been a pleasure to coach them and watch them grow!” – Cardiff U11’s Coach
“Fabulous day of netball today. The girls worked hard and performed incredibly well. The atmosphere was fantastic! Relaxed, inclusive and rewarding. Thank you for giving my daughter, Ffion such a fabulous opportunity throughout the year. Rachel has been amazing with the RCT LA Hub girls”.
“It has been an absolute pleasure coaching U13 & U15 Vale LA Hub this year. I have coached some of these girls since U11 LA Hub, so watching them grow as players & young ladies has been a real privilege”. – Vale U13 and U15 LA hub Coach
South East Wales: Claire Joll.
On Saturday 17th June 2017 at Ebbw Vale Leisure centre, the first South East regional LA HUB showcase was held. The aim of the showcase was to ‘encourage the skill development from across the season and showcase the player’s talent’. The showcase provided the opportunity for the region to come together and celebrate the players’ development, no scores were kept or celebrated throughout the day.
DTC head coach Coach-Aimee Phillips came along to see the girls, as hopefully some of the girls will progress on to DTC/PTC next season.
“‘I was thoroughly impressed with the organisation and smooth running of the tournament. The players were enthusiastic and clearly enjoying playing in the tournament. The support was excellent by coaches, parents and umpires and a real credit to the area. I was enlightened to see that there was not over emphasis on winning as I feel that players were encouraged to demonstrate the skills they have developed rather that tactics to beat the opposition.”
Throughout the day 250 girls took part in the showcase. The girls ranged from 9 to 15 years old. It was amazing to see many players not only taking part but enjoying the day and experiencing their first part of the Wales Netball pathway. Support from friends & family was overwhelming with most court areas full.
The day was split into 3 sections, starting off at 8.30am with u11s. With 6 teams and having two courts the u11s had the opportunity to play everyone. We then moved onto u13s, with 10 teams it was decided that everyone would play everyone except playing their own team i.e. Newport V Newport. We then finished the day with u15s, with 7 teams involved the same format as u11s was used.
After each age group, a presentation was held whereby all players received a signed certificate from Welsh Player Nia Jones and had a team photo.
The following local authority HUB’s took part:
Torfaen
2x u11
2x u13
Blaenau Gwent
1x u11
2x u13
2x u15
Caerphilly
2x u13
2x u15
Newport
2x u13
1x u15
Monmouth
3x u11
2xu13
2x u15
North Wales: Abbie Kelsall
The LA Hub showcase for North Wales was held on the first weekend of June. The U11s, U13s and U15s from Gwynedd and Angelsey, Conwy, Flintshire, and Wrexham all had the opportunity to play within the squads that they have trained with since November 2016.
There was a brilliant showcase of the skills the players had been developing in their session and the tournament was a rewarding opportunity for the coaces to see their players put in to practice the essential skills that they had been teaching them.
I’m already looking forward to seeing the development of all the players on their Wales Netball journey.
Mid&West Wales: Hannah Pick
The U11 LA Hub showcase was held nn Saturday the 10th of June 2017. Four LA Hubs with 7 teams competed for the very first time, including Pembrokeshire, Carmarthenshire, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot. Every squad had been newly formed in October 2016 with new workforce and players. New umpires also helped and developed their skills on the day.
The U13 LA Hub showcase was held on the same day in the afternoon. For the first time, an additional team from Powys also took part. Five LA Hubs with 10 teams demonstrated their newly learned skills, along with the support of new faces within the workforces and umpires.
The day went really well and I am so proud of my region’s professional manner and the support that came from the parents and guardians. You created a superb atmosphere.
The next day, we held the U15 LA Hub showcase. The event saw Carmarthenshire, Pembrokeshire, Swansea and Neath Port Talbot take part with 8 teams in total. All players brought a very high standard of play to the court with one memorable game for me was between NPT A v Carms A. A big thank you to the coaches, managers and umpires who made the day possible.
A special thanks goes to Jan Richards and Claire Howells for mentoring umpires over the two days. And, as always, Wendy Pressdee for keeping us all on track. Can’t wait til next year!