They normally play handball, basketball or Korfeball and this is their first netball game. I do remember playing Korfeball at university: it was a mix between netball and basketball; we played mixed teams. My overriding memory was being scratched to pieces by the nasty rough girls... I digress. Korfeball uses a rigid basket, a bit like a bottomless potty on a stick ... See below..
... Actually it's more like the pencil holder on massive pair of compasses. I digress again.
They were superfit and have been learning the rules for this match over the last few weeks. We, on the other hand, were awesome.
Pre-Match team talk ...
The game was fast and very exciting ... And we got to use the electric scoreboard thingy!
They were very good at passing the ball but struggled a bit with the rules for footwork and distance. Each time there was an infringement, there was a short discussion as to what had been done wrong and what the outcome was. As they spoke very little English (apart from their captain, Paola) and we spoke a variety of other languages but virtually no Spanish, this made for a series of interesting interludes in play.
It was an excellent and very physical match. We won 17:5, but the standard of passing play by both teams was fantastic!
They were super opposition as they were enthusiastic and highly competitive. We had to play out of our skins to keep up with them. Our girls really gelled as a team.
"If we played like this at home, we would be amazing at netball", Baillie
Mia scored 16 of the 17 goals, with Lila putting her into the scoring position and bagging one goal herself.
Eleanor was a wall in defence, intercepting everything, even though she was marking girls much larger than her. She even tried to kiss a moving ball at one stage ...
Rosanna linked the two ends of the pitch well, working tirelessly to get into space, defend and attack.
Sophie and Daisy swapped on and off and made important passes, threading them through the taller opposition.
Lulu worked hard (and slept most of the coach journey back to base camp) passing, intercepting and helping to move the ball quickly up and down the court and, more importantly, across the pitch to change the angle of attack.
Baillie put in an excellent shift at the back intercepting the rapid passes and changing defence into attack quickly. She did try at one point to intercept a pass with her nose which is something that she will refrain from in the next fixture.
It really was an excellent display of sport and we even had the crowd on the balcony cheering!
