Netball Fitness Program

Introduction

I have chosen to do a fitness program for a sport. I chose the sport netball. I have chosen this sport, as I am more familiar with what is involved in terms of training, warming up, cooling down and so on.

The main fitness components, I think that are involved in Netball are;

1. Stamina

2. Speed

3. Skill

4. Agility

I play in a defence position, so I will try to aim all my exercises at that.

In terms of the FITT acronym (Frequency, Intensity, Time, Type), I spent 4 weeks on this fitness program, set myself a higher target every week to beat or reach, and tried to make all of my exercises compatible with my sport.

About The Sport

The Game

Netball is a team game, played by two teams of seven players and based on throwing and catching. A team may consist of up to 12 players.

Each player has a playing position that is determined by the areas on the court where she may move or play. Their position is shown by letters worn on a bib above the waist, on the front and the back of the player, for example GA – Goal Attack, C – Centre, GK – Goal Keeper, etc.

The aim of the game is to score as many goals as is possible from within an area called the Goal Circle, which is a semi-circle, in the middle of the goal line and measuring 4.9 metres (16 ft) in radius. Only two players from each team may score goals, the Goal Shooter and Goal Attack.

The team in possession of the ball is called the attacking team and the team trying to intercept or gain control of the ball is the defending team. Each team has specific attacking and defending players even though each player both attacks and defends throughout the game.

The winners of the game are the team that has scored the most goals within the allotted time.

The Court

The Equipment

Goal post

According to the Rules of Netball –

– A goal post, which shall be vertical and 3.05 metres high, shall be placed at the mid-point of each Goal Line.

– A metal ring with an internal diameter of 380 mm shall project horizontally 150 mm from the top of the post, the attachment to allow 150 m between the post and the near side of the ring.

– The ring shall be of steel rod 15 mm in diameter, fitted with a net clearly visible and open at both ends. Both ring and net are considered to be part of the goal post.

– If padding is used on the goal post, it shall not be more than 25 mm thick and shall start at the base of the goal post and extend the full length of the post.

– The goal post, which shall be 65 mm – 100 mm in diameter or 65 mm – 100 mm square may be inserted in a socket in the ground or may be supported by a metal base, which shall not project on the court.

– The goal post shall be placed so that the back of the goal post is at the outside of the Goal Line.

– For international matches, the goal post should preferably be inserted into the ground.

– Nets should be clearly visible.

The Ball

The ball is made of leather, rubber or similar material and is a size 5

690 to 710 mm (27 to 28 inches) in circumference

400 to 450 g (14 to 16 ounces) in weight

The Rules

Netball is about running, jumping, throwing, catching, attacking, defending to score or stopping goals being scored. It is a fast game requiring players to have excellent skills and good teamwork.

The two major rules are those of Contact and Obstruction and if those rules are broken, the player breaking them is penalised with a penalty pass or shot and must stand out of play, alongside of the player taking the penalty, until the ball has been released. Any player may take the penalty in the non-offending team and it must be taken from where the person who broke the rule was standing.

– Contact is when one player unfairly impedes the play of an opponent by physically contacting them in some illegal manner.

– Obstruction is about being within the distance of 0.9 metres (3 ft), using arms in actions away from the body and of interfering with an opponents passing or shooting action, or their ability to release the ball.

All the rest of the rules, even though they make up 90% of the rulebook are called the minor rules because they are only penalised with a free pass, which means no player has to stand out of play while the penalty is taken. A few of the more common minor rules include;

* Footwork – Fast, precise and clever footwork is the basis of the game and there are many variations possible which are legal under the rules. Basically, the principle of the footwork rule is, that once the ball is caught, the first landed foot may not be lifted and re-grounded before the ball is released or the player will be considered to have stepped. Therefore, a player who catches the ball in the air may, land on one foot, keep moving and land on the second but must release the ball before the first foot is back on the ground. Pivoting is possible, as it both one and two feet landings.

* Held Ball – the ball, having been caught or held, must be released within 3 seconds

* Over-A-Third – when the ball is thrown, it must be caught or touched in each third of the court by a player who is standing or who lands in the correct third

* Short Pass – When a ball is thrown between team mates, there must be enough room on the court, between the hands of the thrower and those of the receiver for a third player to move between

The Officials

Umpires

Two umpires control the game and make decisions. Each umpire has control in the same half of the court throughout the game.

Timekeepers and Scorers

The timekeeper assists by tracking time while the game is taking place, with the umpire. Two scorers keep a written record of the score together with a record of the Centre Pass, recording each goal scored unless notified by the umpire. All unsuccessful shots are also recorded.

Officials

Match Officials are umpires, timekeepers and scorers. Team Officials are Coach, Manager, Captain and two primary care personnel.

Warm up

5 minutes running, jogging, side-stepping, then walk into a space and start to stretch, starting from the head down,

Turn your head slightly to the left and hold for three seconds and then back to straight. Do the same for the right.

Lift your arm over above your head and gently push down with other arm for 5 seconds, then swap arms

Put one arm straight across your chest and gently push your elbow and hold for five seconds and again with your other arm

Legs a little apart and stretch your arm down gently and hold for five seconds and do same with other side

One foot in front of the other and gently push the forward leg back, putting your hands on top for support, you should feel a stretch on the forward leg and hold for five seconds. The back leg should be slightly bent too. Change legs and do the same.

Again, one foot in front of the other and lean forward the back leg should feel stretched and the front leg should be slightly bent.

Rotate both ankles for five seconds, both in clockwise and anti-clockwise directions. Also do this with wrists.

The warm up is now completed

Why do we have to warm up?

Warm-up exercises should precede any practice or competition; they make the muscles work more efficiently by increasing their temperature. This prevents injury to muscles, tendons and ligaments; and increases blood flow to the heart and active muscles. The warm-up should be progressive, increasing in intensity until the exertion level of practice or competition is reached.

Routine

I have planned out a circuit, which I followed for four weeks. On this circuit I put in activities, which I thought were essential for training in Netball. I did my circuit in approximately one hour and involved 10 activities, which were: –

1. Skipping

2. Triceps Dips

3. Single Leg Push-Off

4. Sit Ups

5. Depth Jump

6. Netball Throw and Catch

7. Step Ups

8. Alternate Wall Toss Test

9. Standing Vertical Jump

I placed them in this order so that they were well spaced. There weren’t too many leg activities at the same time, and that there were exercises to exercise other parts of the body.

I tried to make my program work with the SPORT route,

S – Specificity

P – Progression

O – Overload

R – Reversibility

T – Tedium

I did try to work specifically with my sport; I did exercises like the single leg push-off and the depth jump, which were especially for netballers.

I did progress every week, as you can see by my results – I set a target higher every week and did that target before I had moved on.

I worked myself harder by setting a target higher every week, which I completed before going onto another station.

After the sit-ups, I had a one-minute rest, which I just sat on a bench for.

Cool Down

For the cool down jog for 2-3 minutes and slowly turn into a walk. After, do some light stretches from the warm up.

Why do we have to cool down?

The cool down is just as essential as the warm-up. Abrupt cessation of activity leads to blood cooling and to a slowing in the removal of waste products – cramps, soreness and even fainting can result. Light activity and stretching continue the pumping action of muscles on veins, which help the blood to return to the heart after heavy exercise has ended.