Hooked on Netball

by Lisa Gibbs

  And nowhere could she see her netball uniform or her runners. They just weren’t there. Shoulders slumped, Maddy left the clubroom and joined her teammates.

  ‘Not there?’ Sienna asked, seeing the look on Maddy’s face.

  Maddy shook her head.

  Lily put her arm around her friend’s shoulders. ‘Hey, everyone!’ she called out to the other girls in the team. ‘Have any of you seen Maddy’s netball uniform and runners?’

  Most of the girls looked blankly at her and shook their heads.

  ‘Have you seen them?’ Maddy asked Phoebe, who was standing quietly to one side.

  Phoebe shook her head slightly, then turned away with the same vacant expression she seemed to wear every time Maddy saw her. Maddy didn’t know what to make of Phoebe, but she didn’t really think too much about it. The other girls distracted her, coming up with increasingly silly suggestions of what she could do if she still hadn’t found her uniform by Saturday.

  ‘Maybe you could share uniforms with whoever is spending time on the bench,’ Sienna offered hopefully.

  ‘Or just wear sports gear in blue and pink and hope nobody notices,’ Isabella added.

  ‘Or dazzle them with a blue and pink sari that is so spectacular the umpire will want everyone to wear the same as you!’ said Prani, giggling.

  And even though they all knew the rule was no uniform, no play, everyone tried to come up with some dazzling Bollywood netball moves to cheer Maddy up.

  Chapter Nine

  ‘I’m not going,’ said Maddy stubbornly.

  ‘Yes, you are,’ said Mum, equally as firmly.

  ‘But I can’t play anyway!’ Maddy pleaded.

  ‘It doesn’t matter. You’re part of a team and you’re going to support that team even if you can’t play.’

  Maddy frowned to hold back the tears that were threatening to fall. All she wanted to do was curl up on the couch and watch TV. It was bad enough that she couldn’t play because she’d lost her uniform and runners. But now her mum wanted to humiliate her as well. She could just imagine Jade laughing when she saw Maddy turn up in her old tracksuit and worn-out runners. She had considered wearing something other than her sports gear but figured that’d make her stand out even more. She slumped onto her bed and looked miserably at herself in the mirror. What was the point supporting a team she would never be able to play for again, anyway? She knew her parents couldn’t afford to buy her another netball uniform and another new pair of runners. Tears prickled Maddy’s eyes and she rubbed them away angrily.

  ‘Maddy, come on, please,’ Mum called. ‘It’s time to go.’

  Maddy pretended not to hear and grabbed one of the pink ribbons she and Prani had bought together, to match their Marrang uniforms. She wound it around her finger again and again.

  Urghh! It just wasn’t fair!

  ‘Maddy!’ called Mum.

  Maddy stood up and trudged out the door after her mother. In the car, she stared out the window in a sullen silence all the way to the courts. She felt as if there was a black cloud hovering over her, which she couldn’t shift.

  As they pulled into the carpark, Maddy realised there were still fifteen minutes before the game started. She would have to stand with her friends before they went on to play.

  She approached her teammates tentatively.

  ‘Oh no, Maddy, haven’t you got your uniform back yet?’ said Lily.

  Maddy just shrugged, but she felt a little better knowing that her friend cared. She stood awkwardly with some of the girls, feeling left out, dressed in her tracksuit instead of her netball uniform. She tied the pink ribbon in her hair to show she belonged.

  ‘Guess what, Maddy?’ Jade exclaimed as she came over.

  ‘What?’ Maddy’s face lit up with hope. Perhaps Jade had a spare uniform she could wear!

  ‘I get extra time on court because you can’t play today. How cool is that? I’ll have one less bench shift than everyone else.’

  Maddy stared at Jade. Was she really that mean or did it just not occur to her that Maddy might be upset about not being able to play?

  ‘What?’ demanded Jade, when she saw the look on Maddy’s face. ‘What’s the problem?’

  Maddy just shook her head in disgust and walked away. That was the last straw. She found a seat on the bench and plonked herself down miserably. She could see her mum and Janet talking about the game but she was too upset to go over to them. She would do the right thing today and support her team, but then she was out of here and she was not coming back.

  Chapter Ten

  Maddy felt a hand on her shoulder. She sighed deeply as she watched her team warm up. She didn’t turn around.

  ‘Yes, Mum,’ she said. ‘I’m supporting the team.’

  ‘Maddy,’ said a voice that wasn’t her mother’s.

  She looked up to see Prani’s mum, who was holding a plastic bag.

  ‘I found these netball things in the bag Prani took to the sleepover. She does have a tendency to accidentally come back with more than she left with. They’re not yours, are they?’

  Maddy grabbed the bag without a word. She rummaged in it and saw her netball uniform and familiar-looking runners, which now looked like the best runners in the whole world.

  ‘Oh, thank you so much!’ she said. ‘Mum! Mum!’

  Maddy’s mum looked up from where she was now talking with Sienna’s mum.

  ‘Mum, I’ve got my uniform!’

  Maddy’s mum saw the bag and, without asking any more questions, pointed towards the clubrooms and called, ‘Run! Change! I’ll tell Janet.’

  Maddy looked towards the umpires and saw that they were checking for jewellery and long nails – the girls weren’t allowed to wear any jewellery or have long nails in case they accidentally scratched another player. That meant there were only two minutes before the game started!

  Maddy ducked around spectators and leapt over stray balls and bags as she raced to the clubrooms. She flung everything out of the bag as soon as she sprinted through the entrance. As quickly as she could, she pulled off her shoes, tracksuit and jumper, stuffed them into the bag, yanked the netball uniform over her head and shoved her feet into her new runners.

  She raced back to the court.

  Will I be in time? Will Janet put me on?

  As she got closer, Maddy saw the other players walking onto the court – and for a moment she thought she had missed out. But then she saw Jade sitting on the bench with her arms crossed and a huffy look on her face – and Mum behind her, with Wing Defence bibs in her hand.

  Maddy sprinted over to Mum before Janet could change her mind.

  ‘Go for it, Maddy,’ whispered Mum, as she helped Maddy attach the bibs onto her front and back. Maddy darted to her place on court just in time, because a second later, the starting whistle blew.

  Maddy had to work hard to keep up with the Wing Attack from the Greenfield netball team. She was very fast and it was difficult to stop her from getting the ball. But in the second quarter, Maddy realised that even though the Wing Attack was really good at getting the ball, once she had it, she panicked and didn’t know what to do with it.

  So the next time she caught the ball, Maddy concentrated particularly hard on blocking her pass.

  ‘Come forward,’ the Greenfield Wing Attack entreated her teammates.

  Maddy stood strong and tall in front of her, her arms held up straight, moving from side to side to block her vision.

  ‘Here! Here!’ her teammates called – but it was too late.

  Brrrp, blew the whistle.

  ‘Held ball,’ announced the umpire.

  Maddy took the free pass and sent the ball to Isabella, their Goal Defence, who had responded quickly to the changeover and sprinted forward into the centre third. Maddy grinned as she watched the ball make its way down the court and through to Phoebe, the Goal Shooter, who scored a goal for their team.

  Maddy knew she had caused that changeover and couldn’t wait to go for it again. A little
while later she spotted her chance. The Greenfield Wing Attack leapt out and received the centre pass. Maddy darted in front of her, took a step back so that she was three feet away, and put her hands up to defend the pass. She could see the Wing Attack getting nervous again so she leant as far forward over the Wing Attack as she could without touching her or the ball. The Wing Attack tried to look around her for someone to pass to but Maddy held her stance until the Wing Attack began to shuffle her feet in agitation.

  Brrrp!

  ‘Stepping,’ the umpire announced.

  The Greenfield Wing Attack’s shoulders drooped and she handed Maddy the ball for her second free throw.

  Maddy turned with the ball just as Isabella streaked past her. ‘Maddy, here!’

  Maddy quickly threw the ball to Isabella. Isabella flicked it over the head of a tall Greenfield player straight to Lily, who was playing Centre. Lily faked a pass to Sienna in Goal Attack and instead shot the pass to Phoebe. Maddy watched as Phoebe turned and gracefully lobbed the ball up and through the goal ring. Maddy clapped and cheered. Phoebe might not say much, but it was definitely good to have her on their team as Goal Shooter!

  Chapter Eleven

  It was half-time and the Marrang Gems were winning by four goals. Janet was all smiles.

  ‘Great play everyone. Let’s see more of the same.’ She began to reorganise the positions. ‘Here you go, Maddy. Can you play Centre for the second half?’

  ‘Yay!’ Maddy took the bibs Janet offered her and gave a little jump in anticipation. She looked across to her mum and held the Centre bibs up, her eyes shining. This was the position she had wanted to try all along! Maddy loved that Centre was a running role and that you could go everywhere on the court – except, of course, for the goal circles. It meant that you were part of the play all the time.

  Maddy accepted the ball from the umpire and walked out proudly to stand in the centre circle in the middle of the court. She looked around her for a moment, watching all the players take their positions and savouring the feeling of being in control.

  When the whistle blew, she responded immediately. Lily was Wing Attack and she darted quickly in front of her player, so Maddy shot her a swift short pass. Lily threw the ball on to Charlotte, who was playing Goal Attack and who was free in the goal third. But as the ball sailed towards her, Charlotte closed her eyes instinctively and the ball passed right between her hands and bounced off her forehead!

  Maddy gasped and stopped to see if Charlotte was okay. Charlotte’s eyes were now open wide in surprise at the ball’s impact but she didn’t seem to be hurt and the look on her face was so comical that Maddy started laughing. Charlotte rubbed her forehead and burst out laughing too.

  While everyone was distracted by Charlotte, Lily grabbed the ball, which was rolling along the ground, and passed it to Sienna, their Goal Shooter. She took aim and sent the ball hard and fast towards the ring, but it rebounded straight back into her hands – once, twice, three times!

  ‘Bend your knees, Sienna,’ Janet called from the sidelines.

  So on her fourth try, Sienna bent her knees before she released the ball, and the slight adjustment sent the ball up and through the ring.

  ‘Woohoo! Great goal, Sienna!’ Maddy called out.

  Because she had taken the previous centre pass, this one would be taken by the other team’s Centre. As she ran back to the centre third, she thought about where she would stand to defend Greenfield’s centre pass. She decided to stand in front of the Greenfield Wing Attack. She had seen some of the older players do that so she knew it was a good way to block the Wing Attack from coming out for the pass.

  Maddy spent the rest of the game running up and down the court, doing everything she could to feed the ball in to Charlotte and Sienna in the goal circle. When the whistle blew for the end of the game, Maddy came off tired. Playing Centre had been much harder than she had expected. She’d had to concentrate the whole time and run constantly.

  But it had been worth the effort. It had come down to the last five minutes of the game. Greenfield had been one goal ahead so Marrang had needed two more goals to win, but somehow they had managed it.

  Maddy watched Janet as she handed in her bibs, hoping that she would say something about the way she had played, but Janet only said a general congratulations to the whole team. Maddy bit her lip. She would have liked to ask Janet if she was a good Centre but she felt a bit silly asking in front of the other girls.

  Just then she felt a cold, wet blast in the middle of her back. Maddy yelled in surprise and swung around to see Lily taking aim at her again, with her drink bottle. Maddy leapt across to grab her own bottle and join in the sneaky water fight that was developing. The girls alternately sipped from their bottles and took aim at anyone who wasn’t looking.

  ‘Ready to go?’ Maddy’s mum asked.

  Maddy nodded and took pleasure in one last beautifully aimed squirt at the back of Sienna’s head before darting away to join her mum at the safety of the car.

  ‘That was a close call with your uniform,’ said Mum.

  ‘I know.’ Maddy grimaced. ‘I’m sorry, I’ll be much more careful next time so Prani can’t scoop it up with her things!’

  Maddy’s mum nodded. ‘Great game, by the way, and a good run in Centre!’

  Maddy looked up at her mum gratefully. ‘Do you think so?’

  ‘Absolutely,’ her mum said with certainty.

  Maddy grinned. It was good to hear her say that. She sometimes forgot that her mum used to play when she was young and knew lots about netball.

  Chapter Twelve

  ‘Okay everyone,’ called Janet. ‘New skill to try today: throwing a pass on the run. That means you land on one foot, step onto the other foot, then release the ball before taking another step. Sienna and Isabella, I’d like you to demonstrate – I’ve seen you do this before.’

  Sienna and Isabella grinned at each other and ran out in front of the other girls to show them what Janet meant.

  ‘Perfect,’ Janet said, after they successfully completed three passes. ‘So, girls, what you need to do is to move from your landing foot to your other foot and then release the ball. As long as your landing foot doesn’t touch the ground again while you’re still holding the ball, you won’t be pulled up for stepping.

  ‘I want you all to try this with a partner, up and down one of the courts. I’ll be watching to check you’ve got the right idea.’

  Maddy grabbed a netball and ran to court two with Prani. Starting at one end, the two friends ran, flinging the ball at each other –

  ‘Slow down, Maddy and Prani,’ Janet called, moving towards them. ‘Just jog slowly so that you can concentrate on your passing and steps. Okay?’

  So they reined in their enthusiasm and slowed to a gentle jog. Immediately, they found it easier to count their steps and direct their passes. They moved up and down the court, feeling more and more comfortable and confident with every minute that passed.

  ‘I think I really get this now!’ said Prani.

  ‘Me too,’ said Maddy, grinning.

  Maddy and Prani were so intent on the drill that they didn’t notice that Janet was still watching their progress. When they reached the end of the court, Janet surprised them when she called out approvingly, ‘Keep it up!’

  Maddy and Prani grinned at each other and kept up their practice, but as soon as Janet stepped away to watch some of the other players, Prani couldn’t help acting up. Maddy’s next pass didn’t make the distance and ended in a low bounce. Prani somehow managed to catch it between her knees, and she started waddling down the court.

  Maddy burst out laughing. ‘You look like a penguin!’

  ‘Just smile and wave, boys. Just smile and wave,’ Prani responded, with a waddle and a wave.

  Maddy was laughing so hard now that she felt like she might even wet her pants! Soon, all the girls, who had come over to see what was so funny, were waddling around the court like a bunch of penguins. Even Jade joined in
!

  Maddy looked around her and realised they’d become a team. Learning skills together was important, but laughing together was what made them feel like they belonged. Maddy grinned as she saw even shy Phoebe try the waddle.

  Janet blew her whistle and called to the group. It was a funny-sounding blow, though, because Janet was laughing too.

  ‘Okay, okay, that’s enough. We have ten minutes left – enough time for a quick practice game. Let’s get moving!’

  Chapter Thirteen

  ‘Urghh …’

  Maddy blew her nose and collapsed back against her pillow on the couch, staring listlessly at the TV.

  ‘Here you go,’ her dad announced, coming into the room. ‘Doctor Dad is here with your cough medicine.’

  Wrinkling her nose, Maddy sat up and sipped the spoonful of disgusting syrup.

  ‘Urghh! That’s revolting.’

  Dad perched on the end of the couch and nudged Maddy’s leg. ‘You’ve been home sick from school for the last two days. I don’t think you’re up to playing netball tomorrow. It might be time for me to ring Janet and tell her you won’t be there.’

  Maddy stared at him in dismay. ‘Don’t call Janet! I’ll be fine tomorrow. Look!’ She stood up, shaking off the blanket she’d been huddling under. ‘I feel heaps better. In fact, I think I’d like some fresh air. I’m going to take Boots for a walk.’

  ‘Are you sure you’re up to it?’ Dad asked, with a sceptical I-know-what-you’re-doing type of look.

  ‘Yep! Couldn’t be better.’

  Maddy smiled brightly and walked out of the room to collect the dog lead. Desperately trying to suppress the coughing fit that threatened to bubble up out of her throat, she called to Boots, her black cocker spaniel, attached the lead to his collar, and walked outside.