Having completed 100 various “challenges” to raise mental health awareness between 2014 and 2019, I needed to take a break from everything involved in thinking up different ideas and finding ways of turning them into reality. The relevance of the messages that it is fine to talk about mental health and/or ask for help if you are struggling hadn’t changed, but the combination of all the planning and preparation along with the stresses of everyday life were beginning to have a negative effect on my own wellbeing.
I still wanted to do something to highlight what remain important issues though, and as my strength has returned, this year has ultimately been based around a couple of bigger projects (at the time, even the word “challenge” felt like a form of pressure). The story of the band One Take Charlie can be found on another page, but the other task revolved around netball…
Back in 2014, I approached Gel Williams at Grangetown Netball Club to ask if it would be possible to play my first ever game of netball. Gel was happy to help … I took to the court at goal shooter … and I was rubbish … but after all those wayward shots (some of which actually turned out to be excellent passes), I was “persuaded” to come along and report on the club’s Premier League games; something I’ve done ever since.
I am so lucky to have been accepted into a fantastic club, and to be able to watch this wonderful sport played to such a high standard by so many outstanding athletes. It seemed natural to base a project around netball, and the eventual idea was to set myself the goal of meeting six elite netballers.
To that end, I compiled a list of 50 Super League players and past or present internationals, assigned a number to each player; then asked three people to pick two numbers at random between 1 and 50 … and I think you can work out the rest.
In alphabetical order, the young ladies in question were: Rachel Dunn, Maria Folau, Tamsin Greenway, Maryka Holtzhausen, Lindsay Keable and Kathryn Turner.
(At this point, I need to point out that the list was subsequently reduced from six to five after the “controversy” surrounding comments made earlier this year by Israel Folau effectively removed any possibility of meeting his wife Maria when New Zealand were in Liverpool for this summer’s World Cup.)
That said arranging to meet five people I didn’t know, who were based all over the country was certainly going to be difficult enough. Geography notwithstanding, there was also the fairly crucial fact that none of the quintet had actually volunteered to take part, and even though I did an interview with Andy Lamb for The Netball Show podcast to talk about what I was hoping to do (and more importantly why), success was far from guaranteed.
However, one thing I have learned is that netball is a sport when the biggest stars are both accessible and generous with their time – the only comparable sport in my experience is rugby league (another incredibly close-knit community) – so there was some hope mixed in with a fair amount of trepidation as the quest began…
The photo at the top of the page pretty much gives away that I managed to meet all five of these outstanding athletes. It took seven months and well over 1,000 miles behind the wheel, but here are the respective wheres and whens…
I met Rachel Dunn after the Wasps vs London Pulse Super League match in Coventry on 31 March … I went for lunch with Maryka Holtzhausen in Worcester on 1 May … I chatted to Lindsay Keable prior to New Cambell’s Prem 1 game at Grangetown on 13 October … I caught up with Tamsin Greenway when she visited Grangetown on 26 October … and I was able to speak with Kathryn Turner after Oldham’s home Prem 1 fixture against Grangetown on 27 October.
Maryka knew I was coming to meet her, Lindsay and Tamsin did have an idea of the work I was doing; but Rachel and Kathryn were effectively caught cold, which isn’t really right … or fair; but I did take gifts to soften the blow!
They have played the sport in which they excel at the highest level, yet all five were kind enough to spend some time chatting, and listening to the reasons why I wanted to meet each of them … and on a personal level, it was lovely to find out they are delightful and engaging young women, as well as hugely talented athletes.
Four of the meetings were relatively brief, but I had the chance to spend a couple of hours with Maryka. It was a 440-mile round trip to Worcester, a new record (by some distance) for the furthest I’ve ever travelled for a bite to eat, but it was well worth the drive to enjoy lunch in the company of Maryka, Becky Oatley (who had arranged the day) and Clive Jones (who I barely recognised without his Wasps rugby shirt)…
On one level, the picture at the top of the page could just be collage featuring a number of elite netballers, each of whom makes me look old, portly and, in Lindsay’s case, also not very tall … but the aim of this project, as with all the previous challenges, was to show what can be achieved by talking and asking for help.
I didn’t know Rachel, Maryka, Lindsay, Tamsin or Kathryn; and I didn’t know my GP either - until I finally found the strength to make that first appointment and tell him just how much I was struggling…
So thank you Rachel, Maryka, Lindsay, Tamsin and Kathryn (as well as Becky, Clive and the very persuasive Gel) for your kindness, generosity and support; it really means a lot.
I still wanted to do something to highlight what remain important issues though, and as my strength has returned, this year has ultimately been based around a couple of bigger projects (at the time, even the word “challenge” felt like a form of pressure). The story of the band One Take Charlie can be found on another page, but the other task revolved around netball…
Back in 2014, I approached Gel Williams at Grangetown Netball Club to ask if it would be possible to play my first ever game of netball. Gel was happy to help … I took to the court at goal shooter … and I was rubbish … but after all those wayward shots (some of which actually turned out to be excellent passes), I was “persuaded” to come along and report on the club’s Premier League games; something I’ve done ever since.
I am so lucky to have been accepted into a fantastic club, and to be able to watch this wonderful sport played to such a high standard by so many outstanding athletes. It seemed natural to base a project around netball, and the eventual idea was to set myself the goal of meeting six elite netballers.
To that end, I compiled a list of 50 Super League players and past or present internationals, assigned a number to each player; then asked three people to pick two numbers at random between 1 and 50 … and I think you can work out the rest.
In alphabetical order, the young ladies in question were: Rachel Dunn, Maria Folau, Tamsin Greenway, Maryka Holtzhausen, Lindsay Keable and Kathryn Turner.
(At this point, I need to point out that the list was subsequently reduced from six to five after the “controversy” surrounding comments made earlier this year by Israel Folau effectively removed any possibility of meeting his wife Maria when New Zealand were in Liverpool for this summer’s World Cup.)
That said arranging to meet five people I didn’t know, who were based all over the country was certainly going to be difficult enough. Geography notwithstanding, there was also the fairly crucial fact that none of the quintet had actually volunteered to take part, and even though I did an interview with Andy Lamb for The Netball Show podcast to talk about what I was hoping to do (and more importantly why), success was far from guaranteed.
However, one thing I have learned is that netball is a sport when the biggest stars are both accessible and generous with their time – the only comparable sport in my experience is rugby league (another incredibly close-knit community) – so there was some hope mixed in with a fair amount of trepidation as the quest began…
The photo at the top of the page pretty much gives away that I managed to meet all five of these outstanding athletes. It took seven months and well over 1,000 miles behind the wheel, but here are the respective wheres and whens…
I met Rachel Dunn after the Wasps vs London Pulse Super League match in Coventry on 31 March … I went for lunch with Maryka Holtzhausen in Worcester on 1 May … I chatted to Lindsay Keable prior to New Cambell’s Prem 1 game at Grangetown on 13 October … I caught up with Tamsin Greenway when she visited Grangetown on 26 October … and I was able to speak with Kathryn Turner after Oldham’s home Prem 1 fixture against Grangetown on 27 October.
Maryka knew I was coming to meet her, Lindsay and Tamsin did have an idea of the work I was doing; but Rachel and Kathryn were effectively caught cold, which isn’t really right … or fair; but I did take gifts to soften the blow!
They have played the sport in which they excel at the highest level, yet all five were kind enough to spend some time chatting, and listening to the reasons why I wanted to meet each of them … and on a personal level, it was lovely to find out they are delightful and engaging young women, as well as hugely talented athletes.
Four of the meetings were relatively brief, but I had the chance to spend a couple of hours with Maryka. It was a 440-mile round trip to Worcester, a new record (by some distance) for the furthest I’ve ever travelled for a bite to eat, but it was well worth the drive to enjoy lunch in the company of Maryka, Becky Oatley (who had arranged the day) and Clive Jones (who I barely recognised without his Wasps rugby shirt)…
On one level, the picture at the top of the page could just be collage featuring a number of elite netballers, each of whom makes me look old, portly and, in Lindsay’s case, also not very tall … but the aim of this project, as with all the previous challenges, was to show what can be achieved by talking and asking for help.
I didn’t know Rachel, Maryka, Lindsay, Tamsin or Kathryn; and I didn’t know my GP either - until I finally found the strength to make that first appointment and tell him just how much I was struggling…
So thank you Rachel, Maryka, Lindsay, Tamsin and Kathryn (as well as Becky, Clive and the very persuasive Gel) for your kindness, generosity and support; it really means a lot.