Netball selections time can be stressful for everyone.
Clubs need to select their teams from the (often) hundreds of players trialing, while players are trying to land themselves a spot in their preferred team or club.
But over decades of selecting teams, there’s a question we get in one form or another every single year, as players weigh up their options, and it never ceases to grind our gears.
Coaches and selectors know the one we’re talking about.
“Will I be in the starting seven?”
Players, we’re telling you: It’s the wrong question.
While you might be desperate for reassurance, the message that question sends is that your number one priority is getting as much court time as possible, and that you have the potential to be difficult if things don’t pan out that way each week.
Rather than getting the affirmation you’re seeking, you’re planting a red flag that you’re focused largely on what the club can do for you, not what you can bring to the team and are prepared to do to earn your spot.
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What if someone ends up being stronger than you? What if you constantly miss training? Maybe a particular matchup suits a different starting lineup.
When a player asks us the starting seven question, our answer is always the same: “You have the same opportunity to earn time in the starting seven as everyone else. Provided you put in the work and are a good teammate, there’s a strong chance you’ll receive those opportunities, however we never make guarantees about starting on court each week.”
As a player, consider asking a couple of different questions:
- How will the club’s program help me develop my netball?
- What do the club’s values and culture look like?
In the long run, those types of questions (and answers) will set you up far better for long-term success as both a player and a person, than a coach telling you what you want to hear months before you’ve put in one minute of work on court with the team.
On the flipside of the starting seven question, if you’re a player and you talk to a coach who gives you a guarantee that you’ll be in their starting lineup, take a moment to consider whether receiving a promise like that – before you’ve earned the opportunity – is going to push you to be the best player you can be.
What happens when you move on to the next team or the next club and you no longer have those assurances, but you also haven’t developed the good habits and work ethic that lead to better opportunities?
Something to think about this trials season 🙂
