THE EXUBERANCE OF YOUTH

As a Sutherland Shire Association junior player, I started playing at the semi-elite level when I was 16, which also meant putting in semi-elite, part-time hours at training. It was a pretty big undertaking for someone that age. I was a part of two teams at school, plus I was also on an institute team, two state teams and I was playing in the Commonwealth Bank Trophy as well. Beyond the training, I also had five different coaches and five different groups of players to work with. That was a lot to juggle for a 16 year old. I did find it hard to manage it all, but because I was so young I didn’t really think about it; I just went and did it.

I see so many kids these days and they’re trying to do everything. They’re not just doing one or two sports – they’re constantly rushing around. After school activities, busy weekends and hanging with their friends – they commit to so much to fit it all in. It’s non-stop.

(Photo by Narelle Spangher)

As young netballers we had the summer off – we had a lot of downtime – and now kids are going from one thing to the next without that time off. There’s almost an expectation that they need to push themselves and do everything at once. That’s not the case. I want kids to know that it’s OK to have a break and have recovery days – you don’t have to do everything.

When you’re a kid you also don’t really see the small injuries as setbacks and you don’t realise what overtraining looks like, especially when you’re not getting that recovery time. There are already many programs in place at organisations like Netball NSW and other sporting bodies and codes to help and guide young athletes, but there needs to be more education about how to manage all of the extra demands. That way young athletes can get an understanding of how to look after their bodies and not always rush off onto the next thing.

(Header image by Narelle Spangher.)