About the Book
Netball Gems is a junior fiction series written in partnership with Netball Australia.
Can shy Phoebe find her place in the Gems?
Phoebe loves to shoot goals, and she’s great at it too. She dreams of being a famous netballer and playing in front of thousands. The problem is that she’s nervous all the time, even around her teammates – and there are only seven of them! Why can’t she make friends as easily as Lily and Sienna? Things don’t get any easier when her overenthusiastic dad starts coaching from the sidelines. Could anything be more embarrassing?
Will a mystery puzzle and a new netball idol give Phoebe the confidence she needs to become a true member of the team?
Contents
Cover
About the Book
Title Page
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
Chapter Twelve
Chapter Thirteen
Chapter Fourteen
Chapter Fifteen
Chapter Sixteen
Chapter Seventeen
Chapter Eighteen
Chapter Nineteen
Chapter Twenty
Chapter Twenty-one
Chapter Twenty-two
The Marrang Gems
Player Profile
Netball Drills
Netball Positions
Also in the Series
Copyright Notice
Chapter One
Phoebe stretched up to reach an impossibly high pass. She caught it expertly and then, under pressure from the defenders, passed it on quickly. Dodging around the opposing team’s Goal Defence, she raced towards the goals to catch the next pass … But the pass came back to her before she was ready.
Nooo!
Somehow Phoebe managed to catch it … But she was off balance.
Oh no! I’m going to fall!
Phoebe teetered just inside the back line of the goal circle, her heart hammering wildly in her chest. But hearing the crowd yelling encouragement strengthened her resolve and she concentrated on bending her knees to centre herself.
I can do this!
Smoothly, Phoebe turned and raised the ball above her head. The goal ring was right above her. The crowd fell silent. All eyes were on her. The Goal Defence was straining to block her view but her arms barely registered in Phoebe’s vision. She pictured in her mind the ball curving over the defender’s hand and through the ring. A sense of calm descended over her. She gracefully sent the ball on its arc and it sailed through the ring for another goal. The crowd went wild, yelling and stomping their feet.
With a thrill of excitement, Phoebe allowed herself a little wave to her fans before turning back to the game.
‘Phoebe! Dinner’s ready!’ Mum called from the back door.
Phoebe dropped her arm in embarrassment. ‘Okay, I’ll be there in a minute, Mum.’ She looked around as the crowd melted away. One last goal before I go in.
She grabbed the ball and bounced it off the brick wall at the side of her house. It ricocheted back, but she allowed it to bounce first on the concrete before catching it. She took one step forward and aimed for the free-standing goal ring Dad had set up for her in the backyard. The ball went up … up … and straight through for another goal.
Phoebe spent hours out here whenever she could. Her dad had created this training area for her when she’d first started NetSetGO training as a little girl and she’d been learning the basic skills and rules of netball. Practising netball was her favourite thing to do when she was at home. She loved pretending she was playing for Australia and that the crowd was cheering for her. In her fantasy, she was relaxed and confident, and everyone thought she was awesome.
Phoebe screwed up her nose. Her real life was very different to her fantasy life. As if I could be like that in front of a crowd. I don’t even feel comfortable talking to the girls in my own team!
Her team, the Marrang Netball Club Under 13s – or the Marrang Gems, as they had named themselves – were improving their game every week, but …
I wish I could just relax and act normal around them!
‘Phoebe!’ Mum called again, sounding slightly annoyed this time.
Phoebe dropped the ball and hurried inside for dinner. Her skin was flushed and her long light-brown hair hung in a sleek plait. She could hear her dad talking in his booming voice as she approached the kitchen. Dad and Phoebe’s brother Max were discussing soccer tactics, while Mum was preparing to serve up dinner. Phoebe frowned as the smell of the sarma reached her. Phoebe’s mum loved to cook the traditional Croatian meal of cabbage, minced meat and rice, which she had learnt to make from her mother, but Phoebe thought it smelt horrible when it was cooking.
Phoebe slid into her seat and watched as her dad jumped out of his to demonstrate a move to Max. Dad was square and solid, but surprisingly agile.
‘And then if you do this – you should be able to steal it from him.’
Dad danced around an imaginary ball, shooting his leg out at the last minute. But his foot caught the edge of his chair and he staggered across the kitchen floor, narrowly missing the hot dish Phoebe’s mum was carrying to the table.
‘Yeah, thanks, Dad,’ Max smirked. ‘I’ll definitely try losing my balance and stumbling around!’
Chapter Two
Once they were all settled at the table, Phoebe’s dad turned his attention to her.
‘So how did training go tonight?’ he asked.
‘I didn’t have training tonight,’ Phoebe replied, confused.
‘No, I meant your own training, out the back,’ Dad explained.
‘Oh, yeah,’ Phoebe murmured. ‘It was fun.’ She looked down at her plate, blushing a little, hoping he hadn’t seen her waving to the imaginary crowd.
‘What’s that?’ said Dad. ‘I can’t hear you!’
Phoebe felt her face go even redder.
Mum put her hand on Dad’s arm. She studied Phoebe for a moment. ‘We all know that quiet murmur is your shy voice,’ she said gently, ‘but you’ll need to be a bit louder. I noticed that during the warm-up at your netball game on Saturday you were talking very quietly as well. It would be a shame if the girls thought you were ignoring them. You don’t want them to get the wrong idea, do you?’
‘No, Mum,’ said Phoebe, sighing.
Mum was right. She had felt extra shy at netball.
Had the girls taken me the wrong way? Phoebe thought. Did they really think I had been rude? Is that why I haven’t made friends with the girls as quickly as Lily and Sienna have? Maybe that’s why Jade always looks at me as if I were an alien …
‘How many out of ten?’ asked Dad, breaking into her thoughts.
‘Sorry, what, Dad?’ Phoebe welcomed the change of topic but she wasn’t sure what he was asking.
‘Your goaling – how many can you get in out of ten?’
‘I’m not sure. I wasn’t counting.’
‘It’s really important you keep practising until you can get ten out of ten,’ he said. ‘Then the coach will pick you for goals every time! Why don’t we go back out after dinner and see where you’re at.’
Phoebe’s eyes lit up. More goaling practice before bed – cool!
Phoebe quickly finished her dinner and headed back outside. Dad soon followed and they started with some regular goaling practice from directly in front of the goals. Dad commentated constantly as Phoebe goaled, encouraging her and admiring her technique. Still primed from her session before dinner, Phoebe manage
d to get nine shots in a row before one bounced back off the ring.
‘Awesome work,’ said Dad, passing the ball back to Phoebe. ‘Now let’s mix things up!’
He started Phoebe right in front of the goal ring, where she had been standing before. But this time, with each goal that went through, she had to take a step backwards, to increase the challenge, and for each one she missed she was allowed to take a step forward, to make it a little easier. Phoebe loved the new drill. She concentrated on increasing the bend in her knees to get the extra push needed for the ball to make the distance. Before long, Phoebe was shooting from beyond the distance of a standard goal circle and Dad suggested that she include sideways steps to change the angle she had to shoot at, and to increase the challenge even more. Phoebe was completely absorbed in the drill and quickly learnt to master that, too.
‘You’re a star!’ he said. ‘Where did you learn to goal so well?’
‘Caitlyn,’ she said. Caitlyn looked after Phoebe and Max when their parents went out. She was an amazing netballer and often came out to the backyard with Phoebe, patiently teaching her everything she knew about netball.
‘Excellent. Now, let’s see how you do under pressure.’
This time they repeated the drill, but Dad defended every shot. He danced around in front of her, waving his arms and pulling faces to distract her. Phoebe tried to focus on goaling but her dad looked so ridiculous that she soon started giggling.
‘Dad! You can’t dance around on court!’
‘Doesn’t matter,’ he puffed. ‘Just goal!’
Phoebe grinned and went back to goaling. It was hard pretending she was playing for Australia with her dad’s moustache twitching every time he stretched to defend, but it was lots of fun training with him!
Chapter Three
Thick fog enveloped Phoebe on her walk to the school bus stop. Traffic sounds were muffled, the trees were still and she could barely see five metres in front of her. All was calm. Even the birds were silent. The familiar street had become a mysterious world, with shadowy shapes emerging and disappearing as she walked along. Phoebe loved it. It was like being invisible! All too often she had people bothering her, wanting to talk to her …
‘Phoebe! Can we have a minute?’
Oh no! Not reporters again!
A chubby man emerged from the fog, hefting a camera onto his shoulder. The tall blonde woman with him thrust a large black microphone forward. Phoebe plastered a cheery smile onto her face.
‘How have you managed with all the publicity lately?’ said the woman. ‘I mean, everyone knows who you are, especially after the camera followed you to last week’s game and filmed that amazing goal you scored. The viewers love you!’
Phoebe glanced at the camera, noting the red light blinking to show it was filming. ‘Oh, it’s fine!’ she said, casually. ‘I just go about my business and pretend that no one’s watching.’
‘Well, we know that!’ the reporter replied. ‘After all, it is a reality show!’
Phoebe grinned, tossing her plait behind her shoulder. ‘You sort of forget that the cameras are there after a while. I’m just being me!’
The reporter fired another question. ‘Just between us …’ She leant closer to Phoebe, as if sharing a secret. ‘How did you get chosen to be on Real Schoolgirls of Marrang?’
‘I was spotted in a supermarket. It was Saturday morning so I was in my netball uniform, and I was buying breakfast cereal and singing.’ Phoebe laughed. ‘Sometimes I just do things like that. I don’t care what people think of me, I just am who I am!’
The reporter turned to the camera. ‘Well, you heard it here first! Only Phoebe would have the confidence to sing in the supermarket!’
With a parting wave, Phoebe flashed a final smile at the camera. ‘Make sure you watch me next week!’
Suddenly, two headlights appeared out of the fog, growing larger and clearer. As the bus pulled up to the curb, the reporters and cameras Phoebe had imagined faded away.
Turning back to reality, Phoebe climbed the steps onto the bus, banging her backpack on the door in the narrow entry. Making her way to an empty seat, she tripped on a boy’s computer bag and staggered awkwardly down the aisle. The boy and his mate sniggered and the students packed into the bus all turned to stare at her.
Blushing, Phoebe slid quietly into her seat.
Chapter Four
‘White line runs. Go!’
Eight girls took off. They jogged to the first white line that divided the court into three, then returned to the end of the court. Turning around, they jogged a little faster to the second white line, and again returned to the end. On the final run, they sprinted to the very end of the court, their legs flashing and their arms pumping.
‘Again!’
There were eight dramatic groans, but everyone moved off in a group to repeat the drill.
Netball training for the Marrang Gems always began with some kind of warm-up. Often it was a set of simple exercises but today was particularly chilly, and Phoebe was glad that they were running.
Phoebe jogged next to Maddy and Prani. She could hear them giggling together at Prani’s silly running style – she looked like a waddling duck. Phoebe wished she had a close friend in the team, someone to laugh with, the way Prani and Maddy did. She knew Charlotte pretty well but they weren’t close friends or anything; they just went to the same school. She really liked Lily, though. It was Lily’s mum Janet who was their coach. Lily was always nice to her, but Phoebe just didn’t know what to do to become her friend.
After their warm-up, the girls paired off automatically, grabbing netballs for passing practice. Although this was the predictable part of each training session, and Phoebe always partnered with Charlotte, Charlotte’s passes were anything but predictable! Sometimes the ball came straight to Phoebe, but other times it would go much too high or wildly off course.
‘Oops! Sorry!’ Charlotte apologised for the tenth time.
But Phoebe didn’t mind trying to catch balls coming towards her from all over the place. It was never boring!
On the other side of the court, Phoebe heard Janet’s voice.
‘Sienna, you know your hair should be up. You can’t practise with it blowing in your face. Go and get a hair tie out of my sports bag.’
A few moments later, Sienna sprang up from where she had been crouching near Janet’s bag and walked back onto the court. ‘I’m ready now,’ she announced dramatically.
Each of the girls looked over at Sienna. She had one hand on her hip and she strode across the court as if she were a model on a catwalk.
The girls abandoned their passing drills and started laughing hysterically.
Sienna stopped in a theatrical pose. ‘What?’ she asked, innocently.
This made the other girls laugh even harder – because Sienna had used about seven hair ties to gather her hair into as many clumps, all over her head! A particularly thick clump draped down over her forehead and covered her eyes.
‘I can’t see very well,’ Sienna added. ‘Is something wrong?’
Phoebe saw that even Janet, who was busy setting up for the next drill, couldn’t help but grin – Sienna just looked so funny.
Phoebe laughed along with the other girls but quickly forgot about Sienna’s hair when she spotted the cones and ladders Janet was arranging on the court. There were two sets of cones running alongside each other in parallel lines, and two long, flexible ladders on the ground beside the cones.
I wonder what we have to do with those, thought Phoebe.
She looked over to the rest of her teammates to see if they were wondering the same thing. But they were now pulling out their own hair ties and rearranging their hair so that ponytails sprang from the sides of their heads, or flopped over their faces.
Janet pressed on with the training, ignoring the girls’ antics.
‘Today is all about footwork and balance,’ she announced. ‘The cones and ladders are going to help with that. You will need t
o change the way you move to get around the obstacles, while keeping your body balanced. Watch my footwork as I go around the stations.’
Janet stood at the top of the ladder but side-on, so that the ladder stretched out to her right. She moved sideways along the ladder, dancing lightly on her toes, in a quick high-stepping movement between each rung.
‘When you have done this several times, I’ll be challenging you to look ahead, instead of down at your feet.’
Next Janet stood facing a line of cones so that the cones stretched out in front of her.
Lily moved closer to Phoebe so that she could also see what Janet was demonstrating.
‘For this drill,’ continued Janet, ‘you need to run from the first cone to the last one. The hard part is that to get there, you will have to dodge around each cone, like this …’ Janet took off, darting around the cones, planting her outside foot on the ground next to each one to help anchor her body and keep perfectly balanced. ‘Did you watch my feet?’
Phoebe and Lily nodded, but the rest of the girls were still fiddling with their hair or laughing behind their hands at each other’s crazy hairdos.
‘Well then,’ said Janet, ‘hop into a line and let’s see how you go.’
Phoebe hung back. She watched the rest of her teammates push each other forward to go first and, when they got to the front of the line, burst haphazardly into action.
It was obvious as soon as they started that they had barely listened to the instructions. Some of the girls landed awkwardly on the plastic rungs of the ladder, or wove in a curvy movement around the cones. Phoebe was sure that a few of them couldn’t even see through their forward-hanging ponytails. Most of them collapsed into giggles when they tripped.
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