On Sunday 10th November, Robert Gordon’s College hosted a skills clinic for our senior school netballers, delivered by former international athletes, Lynsey Gallagher (88 caps) and Nicola McCleery (28 caps).

The Junior session started with a high energy warm up and into some ball familiarisation, which saw some competitive spirits emerge when trying to do the snowman! Nicola then took the girls through some ball work in pairs working on fingertip control and quality of passes, with Lynsey leading the girls through some work on making drives to the ball with conviction and being able to change angles and protect the ball, when defenders came into play. The session concluded with some small sided games to put their learnings from the session into practice. 

The senior session was centered around winning the ball in front of a defender and working with intensity. The girls were taken through some small group defensive practices, working to receive the ball in front and away from their defender, whilst dictating the space. This developed into a competitive game of ‘Trenches’ which showed the competitive edge of all those in attendance! 

The session concluded with a Q&A, where the girls asked some insightful questions, including their career highlights, how to balance school work with full training schedules, how to deal with setbacks, and how to manage difficult team dynamics on and off the court. 

Miss Duddy, Head of Netball, said: “We were delighted to have Lynsey and Nicola deliver the skills clinics to the girls, and we are thankful to them for making the journey north. It was a fantastic opportunity for 46 of our netballers to learn from two of the most experienced players to have represented Scotland. Lynsey and Nicola are fantastic role models for our girls, and both our Junior and Senior players benefitted hugely from the experience. It was a wonderful way to conclude Girls’ in Sport Week, and we hope to provide further opportunities like this in the future.”

Daisy (1st VII) highlighted: “I really enjoyed the netball clinic from former Scotland players, Lynsey and Nicola. Learning new techniques for dodging and timing my drives has improved my movement and positioning, making a noticeable difference in my match play.”

Chiamaka (2nd VII) commented: “I had a fantastic afternoon with Lynsey Gallagher and Nicola McCleery. I was able to improve on my hand-eye coordination and have learned some new moves to add to my warm ups. We also discussed the importance of reflection not only for self-improvement but also for the benefit of matches. If your fatigue is stopping you from finding space and doing that drive for the ball then maybe it’s time for a tactical swap. It was a wonderful opportunity to seek advice from such excellent and experienced athletes. I am really grateful for the time spent with them.” 

Katie R (S3) added: “The clinic was really interesting and enjoyable for everyone. It was really interesting to hear about the players' experiences and the drills that we did were really good and challenging.” 

Olivia McL (S2) shared: “I really enjoyed the session with the professional netball players. I think it really helped everyone understand how important the fundamentals are to your performance in netball.”

Freya W (S1) added: I really enjoyed the skills clinic with Lynsey and Nicola! Learning to do the snowman ball challenge was really fun and the work we did on ball handling will help me improve my netball.