Stokesley Junior Netball Club

01/10/2026

Our younger members working on giving and receiving and driving onto the ball!

01/10/2026

Great work on moving onto the ball in both groups yesterday!

14/09/2026

❤️ 🖤 MEET THE TEAM MONDAY 🖤❤️

This week we are introducing Sarah!

Name/role: Sarah – Safeguarding Officer for the last 18 months 🛡️ My daughter has been a member of the club for over 3 years 🏐

Favourite netball position: Goal Attack, even though I’ve never actually played it! 😂🏐

Favourite drink/treat: Tea with a shortbread! ☕🍪

How would you describe the club? Relaxed and friendly 😊💕

Advice to a new player: Give all the netball positions a try, chat to the other players and make new friends 🏐😊

If your child would like to come along and try out netball please get in touch. Our session start back again soon so it’s the ideal time to get in touch, we would love to hear from you 🌟

24/08/2026

❤️🖤 Meet the Team Monday ❤️🖤

Today we are sharing our fab coach- Kate!

🙌🏻 What’s your role at the SJNC?

Head coach, Secretary and also GDPR Officer, for my sins!

🏐 How long have you been involved with Stokesley Junior Netball Club?

I established the club in November 2019, as a “come and try netball session” that quickly grew. We did drop in numbers during Covid but picked up again in 2021 and the rest is history!

❓Tell us something about yourself?

I’ve been playing netball since I was 9 years old (I’ll leave you all to guess how long that is!) and I took it up mainly because my mum played! I used to go to her matches and watch her umpire.

⭐ Favourite netball position?

GD. But I’ve spent most of my adult playing days at WD, and more latterly at GK. Despite my height! I have very big calfs from all the jumping!!

🎵 Best song to get you hyped up?

Would have to be something by New Kids On The Block!

🥇 What’s one piece of advice you’d give to a new player?

Listen to the tips the coaches give you about the small technical moments that will make you a great player. And the physio in me also says strengthen your hips and wear good netball trainers to look after your knees and ankles!!

☀️ Indoor or Outdoor netball?

Indoor. I’ve played too many matches in rain!

Last one…

🫶Tell us one reason why someone should come and try netball at Stokesley Junior Netball Club

I believe netball is the ultimate team sport. There can be no one superstar in a netball team, everyone has an important role and there is a position for everyone. You don’t have to be tall (see me!) and you don’t have to be fast (again, see me!), you will develop a tremendous set of skills and not to mention teamwork and friendship that set you up for life. No matter how grumpy I feel, netball makes me feel better.

22/08/2026

🌟 Players of the Week! 🌟

A huge well done to our two netball stars this week! 🏐💪

🎯 Elsie — excellent shooting practice and a fantastic effort on the court! Your hard work is really paying off!

🌟 Anna — what a brilliant start to your netball journey! You’ve shown fantastic involvement and team spirit. 💪💙

All players worked hard today with lots of effort in the drills that really paid off in the end game with some excellent footwork and great passing✨

15/08/2026

🎉 Player of the Week! 🎉

Well done to Freya, who is our well-deserved Player of the Week! ⭐

She gave her all in every position, kept working hard throughout the session, and stayed focused.

It was brilliant to see her enjoying herself and she should be so proud of herself! ❤️🖤

Fantastic job, Freya! Keep it up! 🌟

12/08/2026

The younger ones watching the older ones, picking up the little things and seeing what it takes. 👀

Different ages, different stages — but plenty to learn from each other.

12/08/2026

For all those Goal Keepers out there! It’s a highly tactical position and I love playing it!

THE BASELINE WARRIOR: Why Your GK is the Most Dangerous Player on the Court 🛑

There is a massive difference between merely defending the post and actively terrorizing the goal circle. When you analyze the elite, high-desperation Australian defensive style, the Goal Keeper is never a passive wall—they are an athletic hunter. It takes a zero-fear mentality, immense spatial awareness, and a permanent collection of bruised knees to play this position at its peak. The best GKs don't wait for the ball to be delivered to the shooter; they fly entirely out of bounds, risking their bodies on the hardcourt just to flick a dying ball back into play. They don't just play to the whistle; they play on the absolute edge of human reaction time, turning a dead ball into a fast-break opportunity.

But here is the most polarizing truth about the modern Goal Keeper: a high penalty count is not always a liability—sometimes, it is a calculated tactical necessity. The constant debate in both grassroots and elite netball is where the line gets drawn between illegal physical contact and elite defensive intimidation. To force those crucial, game-winning turnover balls, a GK has to live on the absolute brink of the 3-foot rule. If a Goal Keeper isn't drawing the umpire's whistle occasionally, they likely aren't applying enough pressure. The harsh reality of the position is that physically wearing down a Goal Shooter, disrupting their airspace, and confusing the feed requires immense, calculated aggression. A spectacular intercept that turns the tide of the game often comes at the cost of being heavily penalized in the minutes prior.

Ultimately, elite keeping is about psychological warfare and space intimidation. A great GK makes a standard goal circle feel microscopic to the attacking team. They force the Wing Attack to second-guess every single feed because the GK has established early on that they will aggressively contest every millimeter of the court. They risk it all, completely abandoning their mark to hunt the flying intercept, trusting their sheer athleticism and the Goal Defence to cover them if they miss. It’s a position of immense physical sacrifice, where bleeding for a baseline save is valued just as highly as pulling down a clean rebound.

Tag the GK who risks it all to save the ball from going out of bounds

Would you rather have a highly aggressive GK who gets 6 game-changing turnovers but racks up 50+ penalties in a match, OR a "clean" GK who keeps their penalties under 15 but rarely wins the ball back?

10/08/2026

❤️ 🖤 Make friends. Build confidence. Learn the game.
🏐 Come be part of our netball family.
📧 [email protected]

05/08/2026