Having the chance to learn from a state player is a rare opportunity, even rarer in the netball world is the chance to be put through your paces by the NSW men’s team.
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So you can understand why Orange Netball Association’s junior representative stars are looking forward to doing just that from 8am on Saturday.
ONA’s under-11 through under-15 representative squads will train under the watchful eyes of the Australian Men’s Championship-winning NSW side, an outfit that includes Orange product Adam Slattery.
As he said, and ONA president Jacki Jasprizza backed up, the men’s game is substantially different to the women’s and so much can be learned, both ways.
“We do play quite differently to the way the women play, so hopefully the Orange rep players can learn something from us,” Slattery said.
“It’s a very unique chance for the players to learn a few different things and potentially new skills,” Jasprizza said.
“These rep players are rarely coached by men and they do things very differently on the court, it’ll be good for our players.”
After the clinics the NSW side is scheduled to feature in two exhibition games. The first is a mixture of ONA’s Toyota Cup players and division one men, the second an intra-squad trial.
“Hopefully we can show off what men’s netball is about,” Slattery said, his side finishing the weekend with training and a bonding session at his family’s property.
Players attending the clinic are asked to bring a netball and water bottle.