A number of AANC girls have been selected to play squad netball for Chelsea District and Springvale District Netball Associations. Congratulations to all players selected for Squad in 2019.
What is a Squad?
AANC have a long history of our players trialling for the Springvale and Chelsea squad teams. A big advantage of playing with the Aspendale Arrows is our club's involvement in two associations. That means we get double the opportunity to play squad netball.
So what is "Squad Netball"? Once selected, the commitment of being in squad soon hits. They train every Monday night for 90 minutes and then most players commit to play in the Jells Park Thursday night tournament. Players then have to buy a full uniform, including training gear and also pay rego fees for the upcoming tournaments. It's not cheap!
Squad teams play around 6 or 7 tournaments a year at places like Frankston, Ferntree Gully and Dandenong. Springvale even go to Sale for a country tournament every June. The tournaments start early on a Sunday morning and teams play up to 7 shortened games and possibly finals. It's a long day.
The rewards are great. The girl's game develops strongly as they are playing alongside elite players, they train hard and they play against the state's best. They then bring those developed skills to their Saturday morning team and the club as a whole is much better for it.