To Tank, Or Not To Tank; That Is The Question. (23/3/24)

In my six years of netball, there have been the lucky courts, and the not-so-lucky courts to play. No court, however, leaves a negative sentiment in my mind as much as Court 6. Does going undefeated change that? Or will the urge to tank make Court 6 the enemy once again?

The answer, unfortunately, is absolutely hecking not. We won by 15 goals. Or, something like that. I forgot to check before I left and they haven’t put them up on the website yet. We won by a lot. We didn’t win by 27 like last week, but we didn’t keep it close either. They were an alright side. They all knew how to play. We just pulled through. Helps when you’ve got people who can play a variety of positions.

I was off the first quarter. Much of it spent supporting. Talking. Yelling. Cheering. Clapping. As you do when your team is doing well. I’ve gotten better since a few years ago. I used to be incredibly loud. Wouldn’t shut up. I still don’t shut up, but I actually try nowadays. People yelling can be annoying to a lot of people.

Myself included.

Anyways, back to the actual game. We had 8 today because someone couldn’t play, so a few of us got full games. Originally I think I would have had a full game too, but come this morning apparently not. I played Centre, Wing Attack then Centre again. I’ve been noticing that I’m not puffed nearly as much. Or, I’m dealing with it better. I’ve got good company in Centre. One of our new players (who I just found out we’d played last year!)’s really fast and amazing with the reoffer. Like I said- people who can play a variety of positions.

Second quarter- I go on, ask the umpire which way we’re going, play, etc. One common thing is that a lot of the players I’ve been on have been able to outrun me initially. I underestimate, I think. I catch up, though. That’s been something good for me- not being completely screwed over from the start. Once I get my crap together, we’re even. I manage a few good leads. Same with her. Sometimes I’ll obstruct. Sometimes they’ll miss the pass and I’ll tap it out of the way. Somehow, I don’t fall over. Weird. It’s pretty chill. Margin comes out just a little more. We’re well in front, but if they mounted an attack I know they’re in reach. If we drop it, they’re a chance.

Third quarter, we give them a few chances. I think it might have been three goals in a row before we got one back. Margin was maybe 9 or 10 goals by then. I played Wing Attack. Once again, player on me is good. Really good. I’ve got to do the early work. I’ll admit it now, I never used to do that. You’ve got to, though. And it feels very satisfying when you pull off that roll, or commit to the lead, and the game just flows like it’s meant to.

Fourth quarter, back in Centre. I’m tired, but not tired enough that I can’t keep up.

Okay, maybe I fell behind a little. But I got it back on the offense. Something to work on- keep on keeping up. Now’s a good time to write a little about the defensive centre pass. I stay back most of the time now. Pick a player, probably the better one or the one who keeps leaving a defender in their dust. Put on the block. Keep and eye on the ball. Try to intercept, and if that doesn’t work, run straight to man up your Centre. I’ll admit, she got a few second passes. It only works sometimes. I think there’s something more I could do (maybe guard more space for running purposes, etc) but change is hard and I’m still getting used to all this new stuff. Helps that we’re winning, lol

Carn netbol