Huh?!
Yeah, that would be the first reaction from most of you, especially the men. (In certain things, I found that women are more adaptable and more accepting than men.) Can't really blame them, I suppose. We have been educated since we were small that netball is a sport exclusively for women. If you're a man, you play soccer. Naturally, it follows that if you play netball, you're not a "pure" man. It's bullshit but when it comes to stereotyping, men are stronger at it than women.
Well, face it guys. Netball is no longer a sport only for women. Much like soccer is no longer a sport exclusively for men. (Say, do they have rugby for women?) Not just in Malaysia, even countries such as Australia, New Zealand, England, Jamaica, Namibia, Kenya and so on have men's netball teams. And they compete internationally just like every other sport too. You can google "men's netball" and see the results for yourself.
My venture into netball started on Tuesday last week, 17/04/2007, when I joined my housemate's team's training. I have never been interested in netball before. My first sport have always been volleyball (and still is). My first impression was that netball is just too tedious, with so many rules that need to be observed during play. But as my friend keeps telling me, it’s not that much different from volleyball. As you get along, you will realise that there are only a few basic rules that you need to know. And he’s right. So I’m now officially a member of team Legend :)
After my first training, I have to admit that I’m not as fit as I thought I was. Volleyball training was hard.. but with netball, you need a lot of stamina since a lot of running is involved. Damn! I was practically panting and gulping for air. My chest hurt and I just couldn’t seem to get air fast enough into my lungs. Sweat? More like a water pipe has opened over my head and water was running all over me. I created a puddle wherever I stood. Hahahahaha..
Netball is actually fun. Hard work, but fun, nonetheless. As a start, my friend/housemate, who incidentally is the captain for team Legend, assigned me the position of defender. Wing Defend to be exact. On the bib it says WD. It’s apparently quite an important position since it’s the job of a WD to stop the attacks of the opposing team. Specifically the WD’s counterpart WA - Wing Attack. It’s hard work. There are a lot of things I need to learn like positioning, dodging, footwork, intercepting etc etc. It’s a good thing I’m playing with the best men’s team in Malaysia :)
Sidetracking a bit.. team Legend IS the current best team in Malaysia. Closest challenger is team Royal. In just about every tournament, these two teams will meet in the finals. Who won the most, well.. I don’t have the statistics with me right now. There aren’t very many men’s netball teams currently in the country but recently, more and more companies or groups are forming their own teams, with proper coaching and all. It’s quite heartening, actually. There’s team MBSA from Shah Alam, Malaysia Airlines, Jentayu from Langkawi, Cobra, Gorgeous Boys, Sonic, this one team from Johor and some others I can’t quite recall. The tournaments are getting very competitive as well. Some even offered cash prize of RM1,000 for the winner. Good, eh?
Ok, back to my story..
First training on Tuesday night.. second training on Thursday night.. third training on Saturday afternoon.. then my first friendly game on Sunday morning. It was a good learning experience, albeit the heat and sun. Man, it was hot! I’m getting dark all over again. Anyway, our opponent was team Cobra.. still green, with potential but still a lot to learn.. Wah! Macam bagus jer aku ni. Hahahahaha.. I played WD; quite challenging for a first-timer.. but all in all, I think I did good. It certainly boosted my morale when the team captain and the coach said I improved a lot in such a short time and has a lot of potential to be a good player. Hehehehe..
So there you go. Another sport in my pocket. That makes it what.. six? Hehehe.. Number one will always be volleyball. Second, bowling. Third, I suppose, is netball. Fourth, tennis. Fifth, pingpong. Sixth, badminton (started again yesterday, after 20 years of retirement.. hahahaha..) Talk about crazy, huh. Hahahaha.. Well, what can I say.. I totally love sports. It’s in the blood, I think. Dad was a soccer player. My three brothers played volleyball, soccer, futsal etc. Unfortunately, my sister and another brother, are not that keen in sports. Oh, that includes my mom as well. Hmm.. I wonder what they would say if they know I now play netball. Must be quite a shock, I think. Hehehehe..
So.. netball, anyone?
Yeah, that would be the first reaction from most of you, especially the men. (In certain things, I found that women are more adaptable and more accepting than men.) Can't really blame them, I suppose. We have been educated since we were small that netball is a sport exclusively for women. If you're a man, you play soccer. Naturally, it follows that if you play netball, you're not a "pure" man. It's bullshit but when it comes to stereotyping, men are stronger at it than women.
Well, face it guys. Netball is no longer a sport only for women. Much like soccer is no longer a sport exclusively for men. (Say, do they have rugby for women?) Not just in Malaysia, even countries such as Australia, New Zealand, England, Jamaica, Namibia, Kenya and so on have men's netball teams. And they compete internationally just like every other sport too. You can google "men's netball" and see the results for yourself.
My venture into netball started on Tuesday last week, 17/04/2007, when I joined my housemate's team's training. I have never been interested in netball before. My first sport have always been volleyball (and still is). My first impression was that netball is just too tedious, with so many rules that need to be observed during play. But as my friend keeps telling me, it’s not that much different from volleyball. As you get along, you will realise that there are only a few basic rules that you need to know. And he’s right. So I’m now officially a member of team Legend :)
After my first training, I have to admit that I’m not as fit as I thought I was. Volleyball training was hard.. but with netball, you need a lot of stamina since a lot of running is involved. Damn! I was practically panting and gulping for air. My chest hurt and I just couldn’t seem to get air fast enough into my lungs. Sweat? More like a water pipe has opened over my head and water was running all over me. I created a puddle wherever I stood. Hahahahaha..
Netball is actually fun. Hard work, but fun, nonetheless. As a start, my friend/housemate, who incidentally is the captain for team Legend, assigned me the position of defender. Wing Defend to be exact. On the bib it says WD. It’s apparently quite an important position since it’s the job of a WD to stop the attacks of the opposing team. Specifically the WD’s counterpart WA - Wing Attack. It’s hard work. There are a lot of things I need to learn like positioning, dodging, footwork, intercepting etc etc. It’s a good thing I’m playing with the best men’s team in Malaysia :)
Sidetracking a bit.. team Legend IS the current best team in Malaysia. Closest challenger is team Royal. In just about every tournament, these two teams will meet in the finals. Who won the most, well.. I don’t have the statistics with me right now. There aren’t very many men’s netball teams currently in the country but recently, more and more companies or groups are forming their own teams, with proper coaching and all. It’s quite heartening, actually. There’s team MBSA from Shah Alam, Malaysia Airlines, Jentayu from Langkawi, Cobra, Gorgeous Boys, Sonic, this one team from Johor and some others I can’t quite recall. The tournaments are getting very competitive as well. Some even offered cash prize of RM1,000 for the winner. Good, eh?
Ok, back to my story..
First training on Tuesday night.. second training on Thursday night.. third training on Saturday afternoon.. then my first friendly game on Sunday morning. It was a good learning experience, albeit the heat and sun. Man, it was hot! I’m getting dark all over again. Anyway, our opponent was team Cobra.. still green, with potential but still a lot to learn.. Wah! Macam bagus jer aku ni. Hahahahaha.. I played WD; quite challenging for a first-timer.. but all in all, I think I did good. It certainly boosted my morale when the team captain and the coach said I improved a lot in such a short time and has a lot of potential to be a good player. Hehehehe..
So there you go. Another sport in my pocket. That makes it what.. six? Hehehe.. Number one will always be volleyball. Second, bowling. Third, I suppose, is netball. Fourth, tennis. Fifth, pingpong. Sixth, badminton (started again yesterday, after 20 years of retirement.. hahahaha..) Talk about crazy, huh. Hahahaha.. Well, what can I say.. I totally love sports. It’s in the blood, I think. Dad was a soccer player. My three brothers played volleyball, soccer, futsal etc. Unfortunately, my sister and another brother, are not that keen in sports. Oh, that includes my mom as well. Hmm.. I wonder what they would say if they know I now play netball. Must be quite a shock, I think. Hehehehe..
So.. netball, anyone?
