As the International Netball Federation, it’s great to see what our Members are up to around the world, whether it’s playing matches, or empoweringtheir members through coaching or other activities.
Today, we hear from Israel Netball who have recently been focusing on coaching through Netball.
In Israel, netball is a lot more than just a sport. Israel Netball put a huge emphasis on women’s empowerment. They encourage girls and teach them that women come in all shapes and sizes, in a variety of colours and forms, but that Netball welcomes every woman for who she is.
During this year, Shan Berman, Coach (Israel Netball) decided to open up the national training sessions to anyone who wanted to improve their netball and encouraged them to come along. These sessions became a huge success, with some having over 24 girls attend, which in itself has raised the level of netball nationwide.
Shan Berman said:
‘Girls found a home to feel safe and can exercise as they are. I teach my girls to play with a smile on their face. If they are not having fun playing, then it’s not worth playing. They play better when they are positive and supporting each other’
‘More important than winning or losing it’s being a person and seeing the other on the other side of the court, being sensitive, mindful and grateful. Most of the girls on the team give back by training the youth or helping with the fundraisers’.
In addition to these sessions, the girls are encouraged to fund raise to get to tournaments, in many ways including bake sales and volunteering.
Alongside all of this, Shan is also the Umpiring Coordinator this year within the league in Israel. She is working extremely hard in training 6 new umpires.
She believes that empowering women and building their confidence is a primary goal and give them the best opportunities they can through Netball.
