WHILE the 2020 Victorian Netball League (VNL) was cancelled due to COVID-19, for the Peninsula Waves Netball Club, it may have secretly been a blessing in disguise.

“Not having a season I think really gave everyone the opportunity to sort of stop and reflect, and realise how much netball impacts our lives and how much it means to each of us. It is actually more than just the games,” championship coach Ashely Chapman said.

With this in mind, Chapman said the club as a whole have taken a new approach to the 2021 season, putting more emphasis on players and coaches overall wellbeing rather than just their physical health.

“Our focus is really on making sure that happy people play well, so we really are looking after everyone’s wellbeing and not just the physical side but really making sure that emotional wellbeing is really on our agenda,” he said.

“Our wellbeing focus is really to manage our players load on and off the court but also their individual life circumstances as well…I think, for me, our goal is to imbed that so that just becomes normal, and becomes part of the new normal moving forward.”

The Peninsula Waves have an interesting line-up this year with a lot of potential, including former Diamonds defender and current AFLW star, Sharni Norder, nee Layton. While she certainly brings an array of skills to the side, Chapman says there is more to Norder than just her netball talent.

“She is the ultimate professional in terms of an athlete but also having gone through her own wellbeing journey. I think she is an incredible person to have around the group at a time like this because she’s been there and done it, on and off the court. She’s won every award, she’s done everything she can and also learnt a lot about herself, so I think she is in an incredible space now to be able to pass a lot of her learnings onto our younger players.”

Norder’s return to the Waves is a “full circle moment”, as she began her extensive netball journey at the club as as 13-year-old nearly 20 years ago.

“We’re really excited that she is part of our group, not just because she is an amazing athlete, she’s just an incredible human and she’s an incredible person on and off the court that we really value.”

Other squad members that Chapman said spectators should be keeping an eye out for include young guns Olivia Wilkinson and Jasmin Mackie, and, in particular, Vixen’s Academy player Sussu Liai.

“She is an absolute star of the future… [Liai] has just come up from our 19’s as well, she’s a youngster in our mid-court that we are looking forward to seeing debut in the open squad and with our championship squad.”

However, Waves whole championship side are shaping up to what Chapman believes will be a really competitive team that will hopefully lead them to a premiership.

“I think that we are blessed with talent right across the board, and it something we’re really exciting about seeing what the group can do,” he said.

“We want to play finals, I think that’s the important goal for us is to aim for the top four and play finals and give ourselves an opportunity to be involved in a premiership, I think that’s the ultimate goal.”

Peninsula Waves’ season begins April 24 against Casey Demons at Casey Stadium.