The official starter program for budding netballers in the making, Woolworths NetSetGO is where children between five and 10 start their netball journey.
It's where they’ll learn all the necessary netball skills in a safe and inclusive environment that helps them to gain confidence, get active, make friends and fall even further in love with this great game.
But don’t just take our word for it. Hear from some of the people on the ground running Woolworths NetSetGO programs in local associations across the netball nation as they walk you through multiple benefits of the program.
1. BOOSTS CONFIDENCE
The first reason to join Woolworths NetSetGO is to see children's confidence both on and off the court flourish.
Casuarina Cougars Netball Club President and Registrar, Ruth Kirk has experienced the benefits of the kick-starter program firsthand with her daughter an eager participant of the Cougars' very own blossoming Woolworths NetSetGO program in the beautiful Northern Territory.
“In three years [of Woolworths NetSetGO] she's grown quite a lot. Every kid's different but she's come out of her shell in regard to not just people, but her confidence around sport is quite high now,” Kirk said about her daughter’s development.
One of the benefits of Woolworths NetSetGO is the growth in confidence children experience. Witnessing that growth in confidence, game knowledge and netball obsession, in all participants, is Kirk's favourite part of operating the Cougars’ Woolworths NetSetGO program.
"One young girl, [had] only just moved to the country and started out not knowing what netball was and by the end of the season she knew exactly what each position was," she said.
“I love to see the growth for the kids, it's such a big growth because they are so young the developments are actually quite noticeable."
2. COMMUNITY & PRIDE
The Cougars are based in both the Darwin Netball Association and the Palmerston Netball Association and are a fairly new club having only been in existence for a year but with experienced Woolworths NetSetGO coach Kirk at the helm they've established a strong connection to their community.
“We originally started [the program] for us and our kids and then it grew into something quite large and it's become one of the biggest clubs in the NT for the first year,” Kirk said of her club’s program.
The growth of the Cougars' Woolworths NetSetGO has highlighted another key facet of why Australian’s love sport, the community engagement and pride seeing children play. Spending quality time each week with likeminded people can open up new friendship avenues for both children and their parents.
Both parents and children become part of the netball community at Woolworths NetSetGO. "One benefit of Woolworths NetSetGO is the social aspect, getting to know other kids with like-minded parents, it's a really great overall program,” Kirk said.
More than 4000 kilometres away in New South Wales, President of Ulladulla District Netball Association Courtney Flint, echoed Kirk’s words.
“Woolworths NetSetGO is a place for everyone to come down, interact together and be involved in their kids' lives for that hour to spend that quality time with their kids. It's a really nice atmosphere for everyone to gather, that sense of community is really strong within our club,” Flint added.
3. SOCIAL SKILLS
The third reason for children to join a Woolworths NetSetGO program is the social skills children learn.
Children between five and 10-years-old begin to develop their social skills and become capable of understanding social cues that enable them to form friendships both on and off the court.
Reflecting on her own netball upbringing, Flint admitted the friends she made playing netball when she was younger have become friends for life.
Children form life-long friendships at netball. "Woolworths NetSetGO is really important for children's development and their social skills...They grow beautiful friendships, that's something I had growing up. I've still got friends from when I was young playing netball and we've experienced all of life's events together,” Flint said.
4. PHYSICAL DEVELOPMENT
The fourth key benefit both Kirk and Flint acknowledged was the physical development and motor skills Woolworths NetSetGO helps to develop in all young netballers.
"Getting out and getting active is great, but Woolworths NetSetGO also develops hand-eye coordination and motor skills that they potentially wouldn't have started learning until later on,” Kirk said.
Two years into her Presidency at Ulladulla, Flint also highlighted the importance of Woolworths NetSetGO in getting children out of the house and active, especially in the new, technologically advanced, modern age.
"A lot of kids these days are not as mobile as they used to be. Growing up, we were always playing sport and that's a big motivator for me to get kids to play,” she said.
Woolworths NetSetGO helps the development of children's motor skills. "They love playing games and running around, throwing the ball and playing adapted games...It's nice to be amongst them and help them develop their skills."
On Saturday February 17, Woolworths NetSetGO centres across the country are taking part in Come and Play Day, you can find your nearest Woolworths NetSetGO centre here.
