The Netball Academy will look a lot different in places compared to last year, with a lot of the team headed on to university and beyond. The squad starts with Year 13, Amber. The Year 12’s on the squad are Alice, who takes the prestigious position as the Captain for this academic year, Jess, Lauryn, Morgan and Elise. The Year 11’s who have joined the squad are Eleanor, Libby, Emma-Leigh, Phoebe, Sasha, Summer, Natasha, Denisha, Mary, Kayleigh, Beth, Alice and Hazel.
Prior to starting the teambuilding event all the girls, including PE Teacher and Netball Academy Coach, Mrs Carroll were excited for the activities ahead. Team mates Alice, Jess and Morgan decided to give the day a bit of creativity by painting their teammates’ faces. This was a great idea as it got everyone involved and looking forward to the activities ahead.
To begin with the girls were put into harnesses and were told the rules for the activities and how they work. Before the team work started the girls had fun with the obstacle course for fifteen minutes. At this early stage, Year 12, Elise proved to be agile and quick and went from one end to the other the fastest.
After the obstacles it was then time for the girls to be split into five different groups. The idea was to put them in groups that they wouldn’t usually work in. The first task was to get from one side of the obstacle course to the other. Team Captain Alice led her team to victory, which included Elise, Beth and Hazel. The team worked really well with one another and giving each other support along the way!
However, things didn’t stay easy for long as for the second time round they had to walk backwards. Although, Alice was once again supportive of her team mates, her team didn’t quite do enough to become victorious again. This time it was Mrs Carroll’s team that won, which included newcomers Emma-Leigh, Libby and Denisha.
As each task was completed, the one that followed after was a bit harder and the third time round it consisted of the girls going from one end to the other while carrying a ball. However, they had to find a different way of holding it instead of holding it in their hands and every single person in the group had to have the ball at least once during the activity. This time, Eleanor was one of the girls who really stood out as she used great leadership skills to help her team progress on. It was because of her leadership skills and team working skills with her partners, Natasha, Kayleigh and Alice that this team succeeded and gained their first victory.
Prior to starting the fourth task, everyone had to swap positions and get a new course to start. In every group, they had to always remain with a partner. Eleanor and Kayleigh proved to be a brilliant partnership as did Jess and Lauryn. Jess and Lauryn were super as they were there to help each other if they needed it, moved step by step together and weren’t rushing each other. However it was Mrs Carroll’s team, including Denisha, Emma-Leigh and Libby, who stole the show once again.
For the fifth and final challenge the groups had to change where they were located and get to somewhere they hadn’t been before. To achieve this one person was blindfolded and only one person could give the other person directions of where to go. The other two people in the team couldn’t speak. Everyone who was participating did a brilliant job as they were all helping one another out and it was great to see. Once again, Mrs Carroll’s team nailed it and were successful in part one of two. The second part meant that someone else had to be blindfolded on the way back. This time it was Alice’s team who were victorious.
To finish the activities, the girls attempted to conquer the tree challenge. One tree was easier to climb, while the second one was a bit harder. Every single member of the academy, including Mrs Carroll gave it ago and they all did super. Elise was a great role model for everyone to follow as she was the first one to volunteer to give it ago and she nailed it! After Elise showed everyone how to do it, the girls grew more confident and everyone gave it a try.
To end the day on a high, everyone went down the slide in the Kids’ Area which was super fun! It was a great way to bond with one another and it made everyone laugh. What a great way to end a fun day.
Year 12, Jess, who will be in the team for a second year, said: “The whole day was definitely important and I felt like it really bonded us with other members of the team. I feel a lot more comfortable around them all now! The highlight of the day was the team building races, especially when we had to trust each other to get across safely without falling due to being blindfolded. I feel like I can trust all my team mates now!”
New player and Year 11 student, Eleanor, said: “As soon as I got there (Kaos Indoor High Wire Adventure) I was excited to get started. Kaos helped us interact with one another in a completely different way. Overall, it was hilarious to complete the courses!”
Well done to all the girls involved. In every activity you were all dependable on one another and showed great resilience in more difficult situations. To say that most of you didn’t know one another or you hadn’t worked as a team before, you all did super! It should be a very good netball season
.jpg)
