Netball-fitness
PUTTING FITNESS INTO PERSPECTIVE
When A Team Isn’t Performing So Well, Is Lack Of Fitness Directly To Blame?
There are several stages to overall fitness and these need to be addressed before a complete training program for netball fitness can be achieved.
These fitness areas are:
1. Discernment between aerobic and match fitness.
2. Understanding the difference between fitness and conditioning.
3. Recovery for high-level netball players.
4. Traditionally an athlete’s (triathlete, cyclist, runners) performance is measured by their maximal ability to take in and use oxygen.
5. A netball player’s performance is not measured in the same way!
6. Why the adages “no pain no gain” and “more is better” are destroying the fitness of athletes including national and state players.
7. Why a netball player does not need weight training and will be fitter and stronger for it!
8. What is “no man’s land” training and why it makes athletes tired and lose concentration!
9. Rehydration and proper eating leading up to a game should be foremost for any sporting athlete.
Before any fitness-training program is implemented, it is wise beforehand to define player ability and player fitness so that the foundation of netball fitness is not undermined by over training.
Bear in mind that netballers are not endurance athletes like triathletes or pure sprinters but they ARE speed burst specialists.
Speed burst training done correctly provides abundant energy levels, something racing cyclists have done for decades. Speed bursts are also a way of life for primary school children who, unwittingly in the playground, maintain high energy levels. It is not youthfulness, which promotes children’s high energy levels, but the way they exercise.
Cyclists have learned from this with great success and so too can netball players whose game has similar attributes to those of racing cyclists.
But before we delve into fitness training lets put player fitness and the type of game netball is into perspective first.
FITNESS PERSPECTIVE:
Player ability and team tactics must always be looked into for a probable first cause of not performing well before blaming a lack of fitness.
Players who feel fitness is the key component to outright winning netball are often guilty of launching into a fitness campaign that an Ironman would find daunting, and as a result, skill levels decline because of inadequate recovery and loss of concentration results.
There is little point arriving at a game with a tired mind and body through aerobic exhaustion. Aerobic tiredness will creep up on you and is always the last facet of your game to be blamed for poor performance.
That is because modern fitness training has conditioned us to
believing “more is better”. Not true!
The outcome of over exercising is your concentration will decline. Netball is about 100% concentration, nothing less.
However, when a team starts losing or doesn’t win a game it is natural to blame a poor performance on fitness issues, as we naturally think not being able to cover our opponent indicates a lack of fitness rather than lack of drill or tactical training.
When I am scouting for new players, I always look for the ability a player has to hold concentration and to adapt to positional play before fitness becomes a concern.
Please don’t mistake a player who runs around the court like a scalded cat as being a good netball player. Mostly these types of players are so busy covering everyone else’s ground outside their area that by the third quarter they are spent. By playing smart netball and dropping back to your court position ready to lead again you conserve energy.
Every athlete must learn to conserve energy no matter what their fitness level and to avoid a drop in blood sugar levels.
Play smart not fast!
Mistakenly some players assume that because top netball teams move at lightning pace, club players shouldn’t have any trouble. Club players can be very quick but remember the speed of top players is matched to their skill and ability.
In netball if you are running out of puff, you are most likely running too much, trying to be everywhere at once. All the fitness in the world will NOT compensate for playing proper positional netball.
Does an excellent marathon runner automatically qualify to play in a national netball team? Ability and skill first then fitness…
It is worth noting if a player is feeling tired by the third quarter it’s not always a lack of fitness that is the problem, but in all likelihood dehydration or lack of proper eating habits leading up to the game. This is by far the most common reason for players feeling flat in the third quarter, commonly known as the “Championship Quarter”.
Without proper glycogen (fuel) stores in your blood, your fitness training will be compromised through lack of energy.
High level fitness will not override poor eating habits and lack of rehydration.
You can train to move like a sprinter about the court, rushing here and rushing there or you can train to move the ball quickly from player to player. How many times have you seen a fit centre player out of position because she has run too far too fast and can’t get back?
Play smart and make the ball do the work not your feet.
Certainly, a top netball team will be moving quickly but their skills are matching their leg speed.
It doesn’t matter what level of netball you are playing from league to state, fitness should be seen as an enhancement to a team not the foundation.
Through the fitness series I will show the difference between aerobic and match fitness, proper eating habits and hydration and a few clever methods in becoming fit through your training sessions.
