Israel Netball Development
Israel Netball is constantly developmenting. A number of directions are currently being pursued to advance our favourite sport in Israel.
General Development
Since netball commenced in Israel, a number of dedicated individuals have assisted in various ways to get Israel Netball up-and-running:
Beverly Jones, from England, has provided Israel Netball with wonderful support. Her passion for netball has helped the development of netball in Israel, through assistance in running the netball tournaments within the Maccabi Games, behind-the-scenes help with administrative issues, and support for the Israeli team at international netball events. Carol Gold (Goldie), from England, has also assisted greatly, particularly in regard to game development. In addition to making time to take trainings during her trips to Israel, Carol has assisted in coaching the Israel Netball teams during tournaments in Wales and Ireland, as well as assisting with team selection. In June 2012 she journeyed to Gibraltar and served as co-coach for our team at the ranking competition. Similarly, Lauren Erlich from Australia, has dedicated many hours to Israel Netball, running trainings during the six months that she spent in Israel, as well as undertaking team selection when needed. Gratitude is also owed to Stuart Lustigman from England, who has provided valuable advice and support from Israel Netball’s earliest days, and continues to be a committed friend of Israel Netball. Israel Netball would also like to express its sincere gratitude to Asaf Stolarz from Israel, Director of the Sport Department of the Maccabi (Maccabiah) Games, who has been instrumental in assisting Israel Netball to become a registered association in Israel, as well as helping with many issues such as including netball in the Maccabi Games.
We would also like to express our great appreciation to England Netball and IFNA who have assisted Israel Netball in many ways and provide support for coaching, umpiring, development and more.
Coaching Development
In June 2005, a Level 1 Coaching Course was held within the framework of the FENA AGM in Malta. Three Israeli representatives participated in the Level 1 course together with a group of Maltese netball coaches. All three Israelis passed the course and were accredited with Level 1 Coaching certification.
These efforts were followed up in November 2005, when former England coach Liz Broomhead visited Israel to deliver the Level 2 Coaching Course, with the support of IFNA and FENA. In line with Liz’s efforts to develop netball internationally, she instructed the three representatives from Israel Netball who had successfully completed the Level 1 course, and all three coaches passed and received their Level 2 certification.
A further Level 1 Coaching Course was held in November 2009 when Israel Netball hosted Joan Young, an England Netball Regional Talent Coach. Joan was responsible for holding trials to select the squad which will represent Israel Netball in Malta in 2010. Taking full advantage of Joan's extensive knowledge of netball, six additional netballers were rewarded with Level 1 Coaching certificates.
In July 2011 both Jodi Carreira and Judy Aknin attended a coaching workshop run by IFNA in parallel with the World Netbal Championships held in Singapore.
In September 2012, Israel Netball hired Tal Segev to serve as our Netball Development Officer. This has allowed us to expand our activities and Tal is responsible for coaching at several different clubs. She and Judy Aknin are currently taking a General Coaching course at the prestigious Wingate Institute in order to become certified coaches to meet the requirements of the Sports Authority in Israel.
Umpiring Development
In November 2008, Israel Netball hosted Gary Holden who delivered the Level C Umpiring Course over an intensive few days. Seven representatives from Israel Netball participated in the course which included three practical and three theory sessions.
During the netball tournament of the 18th Maccabi Games, which was hosted by Israel Netball, four of the seven candidates were tested on their umpiring competencies by the international umpires who officiated at the games. We are proud to announce that all four ladies were successful and are now Level C umpires.
Special gratitude is owed to Sheelagh Redpath from England, who has greatly assisted Israel Netball in advancing the development of accredited umpires.
At the tournament held in Gibraltar in June 2012, Judy Aknin attended an umpiring workshop that was run by FENA.