How I feel when I play netball

I’ve been playing netball since January. It was, like many of the new ‘hobbies’ I take up, a bit of a whim, but much to the surprise of all my family, not least myself, netball is a hobby that has stuck.

Something happens to me when I play netball that doesn’t happen with anything else I do. I’m sure for lots of people who play sport regularly this is nothing new, but I can honestly say that until netball, not in 34 years did I find a sport that made me feel this way, so to me it’s something worth talking about.

When I play netball, my head empties of everything else.

This in itself is an achievement, as I normally find it extremely hard to think of just one thing at a time for more than about 30 seconds. Even writing this I’m half compiling a shopping list in my head, half watching Wimbledon, half fancying a cup of tea… You get the idea.

When I play netball though, there is nothing else.

I don’t notice it so much while I’m playing, but I know it happens, because within minutes of leaving the court I feel all the thoughts flood back in again. ‘Oh!’ I think to myself. ‘There you are!’

Normally I’m pretty lazy, but when I play netball, my body sprints and jumps without me having any say in the matter. Half way into the session, I am sweating, red-faced and breathless, but I don’t want to stop. Last night, when there were too many teams to all play at once, I waited impatiently on the sideline for my turn, puffing and panting and rubbing the sweat from my face.

When I play netball I don’t think about how I look, or what I’m wearing, or even really how good I am – I just think about getting the ball, and scoring a goal.

When I’m doing other things, I always have an awareness of time, but when I play netball, the end always sneaks up on me – ‘Really? That can’t be an hour already?’

It’s no wonder really is it that the netball fade has lasted longer than the origami animals?