I hadn’t played netball since secondary school. I knew I would never get into the university’s netball team with such a long hiatus in my sporting career. I always told myself I’d get back into it, but life got in the way – for three years. It often feels that if you don’t get into something in Freshers’ Week of your first year, you might never get around to it.
This isn’t true by the way; I didn’t join this newspaper until halfway through my second year, and now I’ve had the privilege of being a Lifestyle Editor for over a year. However, sport felt more daunting.
Over Christmas, I reflected and thought about how I wanted my final semester to look: making the most of the beautiful city of Edinburgh and the university community and opportunities. I pondered on my goal to join my school’s netball team, something I’d been wanting to do forever. I had already joined the group chat and followed the Instagram page. Finally, I attended a training session with the Geography Netball team.
The team is comprised of geographers of all year groups, as well as some non-geographers who want the chance to play. The student coaches were informative and skilled, leading drills to help us level up our teamwork and develop personally. The team were always happy to show me the right way to do things and explain the various rules. I never felt as though I was being annoying or was getting in the way; they always wanted to encourage and support me. I wish I’d started way before.
I wanted to share my experience in the hope that someone else might read this and be inspired to join a team. I highly recommend intramural teams, and with most schools having football and netball teams there are many opportunities. These teams are usually less intimidating and mostly play for the love of the sport. So don’t be afraid to join a team, and don’t leave it until your final semester of fourth year like me.
Image credits: Niamh Stone