Orange has a long and proud history of success at virtually every level and with more and more juniors flocking to the sport every year, its reputation as one of the state’s strongest associations outside of Sydney doesn’t look like taking a hit any time soon.
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Orange Netball Association has more than 2000 participants and welcomes more every year, that constant growth is thanks largely to a concerted, fervent and continued focus on development throughout both the senior and junior player bases.
Bridie McClure, who plays in Vipers’ mid-court in the Toyota Cup, is a huge part of that junior progression, largely through her role as Orange’s NetSetGO coordinator, a program aimed at kids of all abilities between five and 10 that helps develop fundamental skills on and off the court before they move into a competitive arena.
She also helps coach Orange’s under-13 representative side which finished 15th of 20 in division two at the Netball NSW State Age Championships earlier this month.
The under-12 Thunder side also finished 15th in division two.
Based on what she’s seen so far in 2018, and in past years, she’s certain Orange’s future is in good hands.
“The future looks very bright,” she beamed, before focusing on the representative prospects of the association.
“The more experience these girls get, the better they will get. The future of Orange representative netball looks very bright if we can get these girls to stay together over the years.”
Apart from the abundance of talent across all the age groups and the other strong results at state age –the under 15s came second in division two, while the under 14s finished 16th in the championship division – there’s one other factor she identified as a key to Orange’s continued success.
“They all get along so well,” she said, focusing on her under 13s in particular.
“They are such a great bunch of girls … I was very lucky to coach them over the rep season.
“One of my biggest highlights (from state age) was that the girls never gave up.
“From the very first game of the weekend to the very last they went in to each one with the same positive attitude.
“The girls pushed themselves all weekend which was great to see. They all worked really hard.
“There were a few games … we only just lost, a few which we probably shouldn’t have lost but did (but) we were happy with the result.”
Orange Netball Association will host its representative presentation night on Saturday, July 28.