Once I got into my whites, which is the official uniform, I was able to become qualified to umpire without a mentor. The next step for me is to become badged which allows me a greater certification and the ability to umpire finals and higher-stake games.How are you finding it?  Is it difficult if you have to make an unpopular decision?  What do you like about it?When I started umpiring, it was quite stressful to get used to calling players out for mistakes because I was afraid my calls would be wrong, but as I have gained more experience, I have grown much more confident to calling things and have realised that even if they are the wrong mistakes, both the parents and players are usually quite nice about it. 

As I’ve continued, I have also gotten a better understanding of the rules and I make fewer mistakes than I did before but they are still sometimes unavoidable. I really enjoy the people I work with as they are all so kind and were very inclusive to me when I first joined. I also really enjoy being able to educate and watch younger players learn to love the game that I love so much and have even had younger girls come up to me after a game to thank me for umpiring. The whole community of netball is so welcoming and kind to not only umpires, but to coaches as well.

That’s so good to hear!  Are there many female coaches in your area?

In my netball club, from what I have observed, the majority of both the netball committee and the coaches are females. The coaches are mostly either mothers of some of the children in the team or young adults who love netball, such as me and my friend that I coach with. The coach for my team is a female as well and she got into coaching as she is also an umpire and loves to spend time at the courts and with children who aspire to grow as netball players. Although there are many females in the netball community, there are still many fathers that have stepped up to be coaches or team managers for teams. I think that netball used to be just a girls sport but it is slowly integrating males into both the wider community and as players.

What made you decide to move into coaching?  

I decided to get into coaching as I think it’s a great pastime for the weekends instead of spending time on a device. I also got into it because I spend most of my Saturday at the court for umpiring and playing and thought that it would be nice to help younger players to enhance their skills. I coach with one of my friends who encouraged me to coach with her so now we get to use both of our individual skills to create motivated and skilled teams and individuals.How do you find coaching?I really enjoy coaching as both the kids and the parents are so welcoming and sweet to both me and my co-coach. I love to create bonds with children who have the same interests as me and to help them develop the skills that they need to go wherever they want in netball. Coaching is also quite easy for me as I have been playing netball for many years now and the younger kids are very eager to learn to get better in their skills. I have also had really amazing bosses who have given me everything I need and continue to help me grow as a mentor.

Which do you prefer coaching or umpiring?

I really love them both as they keep me fit and mentally activated throughout the week but I believe I like coaching better as I like to work directly with kids and umpiring limits me to working with them from the sidelines. Being able to coach children allows me to create bonds with them and allows me to be a direct influence on their growth.

Wow! Thank you Lucy. It’s great to hear how you’ve continued your involvement with netball. Keep in touch!