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Wellington teams take on first FOBISIA netball tournament

13 Jan 2020

At the end of last term, 19 Wellington pupils competed in the College’s first netball tournament organised by FOBISIA in Singapore. Captains Coco of the A team and Zehra of the B team describe their preparation and participation in the tournament, as well as what they learned from the experience.

Getting ready for FOBISIA

Coco: This was a fantastic tournament as it really gave us the chance to match ourselves against some of the best netball teams in our age bracket. I think both teams can be very proud of their performance, as the A team won the tournament plate while the B team came 3^rd in the plate. Given the extremely high standard of competition, this was a big success for our first appearance in this event.

Zehra: Both teams trained really hard for this tournament. We knew we’d face tough competition so we were on three dedicated training sessions per week. We worked specifically on fitness throughout the season to improve on where we were last season. Also a lot of training time went into gameplay and strategy – how we move on the court, our positioning, making the best use of space to maximise coverage, and so on.The A team and B team also practiced against each other a lot. This was very helpful in letting us get a feel for different playstyles and often we would pause the game to analyse a certain tactic or any mistakes that could be addressed.

Hitting the court

Coco: We definitely discovered that the training was necessary when we arrived in Singapore. Watching the Singaporean teams was an education in itself; their passing was so clean, they made zero mistakes! It definitely gave us something to work up to, as their set play and general ball control was admirable and something we want to emulate. In this sport, even a couple of poor passes or mistakes can add up quickly and cost you the game.

Zehra: The heat and humidity was another significant factor that gave us a bit of a shock initially, even though we were told to expect it. Fortunately, we acclimatised after the first day and it didn’t take its toll too much.What really made the tournament enjoyable for everyone was the friendly and welcoming, atmosphere. There was a good competitive spirit overall and even though we were cheering on our own sides when the A team watched B team games and vice versa, the atmosphere was a very genial one. Everyone was determined to do well and play their best game, but not at the expense of fair play, I think that was the attitude on display overall throughout the tournament.

The lessons learned

Coco: Watching a range of other teams play is always a valuable experience, as is playing against them. In some cases we got the chance to observe our opponents in other games before playing them, which gave us a chance to assess their strengths and weaknesses and adjust our tactics accordingly. Sometimes this helped, in other games they were just too good!

Zehra: Going to international tournaments and experiencing completely different opposition and different playing conditions is very helpful in making us more versatile and resilient players. The heat was a factor to overcome, but we were managing pretty well after the initial shock of the first game. Generally, I’d say it’s more valuable to face off against better quality opposition, as it pushes us to play our hardest and make every play count. If you continually face the same teams who you know you can beat, it’s very easy for overconfidence to set in, which generally tanks the quality of your game.

Highlights and proud moments

Coco: The plate final was a natural highlight for the A team. We were drawing for a long while but the second half saw us pulling away with a lot of points as our patience paid off and we consistently converted chances into points. It was just a very solid performance from the whole team.

Zehra: After one game in particular we had our coach and the opposition’s coach tell us that it was our best performance in the tournament, which was really gratifying to hear. It felt great to hit our highest standard of play in the company of really good teams and have that achievement recognised. Afterwards, we thought hard about what went well and how we could replicate it in future games.Overall, I’d say I’m most proud of our teamwork; our communication on the court was so much better because we realised that we needed to pull out our best performance as a team and stick to our agreed strategy.

Coco: Similarly, we saw the quality of the opposition in our early games, so I’m really proud of how my team stepped up their game accordingly and weren’t overawed by the opposition. I think we improved a lot throughout our games, we were moving around the court much better and making the most of every chance that came our way. Looking ahead, we’ll be working on our back line passes and centre court passes.

Zehra: For us, positioning will be key next season, as we need to ensure that we’re showing enough situational awareness and making the best use of space as we can.

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