Victoria Hall (UBS) Netball Team: It’s the taking part that counts!

Victoria Hall (UBS) Netball Team adopts a relaxed approach to the Campus League. Whilst every match is driven by a level of competitiveness, it cannot be said that we are the most serious team in the league! With our players ranging from third year history students to first year nurses, we have a wide range of disciplines and ages playing for the team. It provides the opportunity for students to socialise with girls that they don’t see every day on their course or live with.

Training every Wednesday afternoon at Withington Girls School, a relaxed atmosphere has proved key to our success. Whilst circuit training and drills are weekly events, we ensure frequent water breaks and gossiping are included in the schedule. The last quarter of the session is dedicated to a practice match against MathSoc. Sharing training allows our teams to unite and swap tales of previous matches to warn one another about upcoming opposition and tactics!

Wednesday evenings are match nights, so we equip ourselves with our black kit and a fierce attitude and prepare to face our opposition! Rotating throughout the match, players get to play a minimum of two quarters each, and at least one in their preferred position. In our most recent match, we faced St. Gabriel’s Hall, and surprised ourselves with a 28-8 win.

In light of our matches so far this season, areas for improvement certainly include slowing down our game, making use of the three-second time allowance, and finding space on the court. Whilst we may not take ourselves too seriously, the competitive edge in us all has encouraged us to build upon our strengths and to continue improving. We hope to see a clear progression in our performance at the end of the season, in comparison with the start. We are currently working alongside Victoria Hall Residents Association to purchase new kit, so hopefully the New Year will see this development as a success.

Losing a number of players this season while they embark on a year in placement, or have opted to study abroad, we started this semester low on numbers. However, each year it is amazing to see fresh faces, with new skills and personalities brought to the team. We have entered the season with a development in tactics, hoping to climb the league table!

A fan of socials, we try to hold as many a year as possible, though this year we have not been so successful. Hopefully we will manage to hold a couple in the upcoming festive period. It is important that we retain our relaxed approach to the sport, enjoying training and matches, yet still experiencing success! Awarded ‘Most Enthusiastic Team’ at last year’s Campus Sports Ball, we aim to continue this season with the same attitude!

Whether you are a netball fanatic or just fancy experiencing a new sport and socialising, we are always welcoming new faces. If you would like to find out more about how to join the team, please e-mail [email protected].