Netball injury prevention key as season gets under way
Freezing frosty mornings, muddy brown track pants and bright yellow jumpers resembling a canary are all images that flood back to Anna Kennedy (nee Thompson) while reminiscing her netball beginnings.
With more than 30 years’ experience, the 37-year-old former Silver Fern – and the first Mainland Tactix player to bring up 100 games – still gets the same kick out of playing with her mates today.
“I do look back and think ‘wow, I’m lucky to have been one of those players who have worn the black netball dress’.”
After having her third baby in February, Kennedy is preparing for the newest netball season coaching Rangi Ruru Girls’ School in Christchurch, this time with a specific emphasis on injury prevention.
“One of the things that I really love about netball as a player, and as a coach, is that team environment, and seeing players really flourish,” she said.
“Seeing them transform from the start of the season ... and creating those relationships is very rewarding.”
As Kennedy matured as a mainstay at the Tactix from 2008 to 2017, she understood the importance of injury prevention as “it was a huge part” of her career.
“I have grown up with NetballSmart as part of my routine and that is what I am instilling in these girls.
“We want it to be second nature.” ACC created an injury prevention programme in 2000 to address the high number of injuries in the game.
It was renamed NetballSmart in 2004, and Kennedy was one of the first players to adopt it, about the same time she was first identified as a player of talent at Marian College.
“We all got into it because we trusted Shaz,” Kennedy said about Sharon Kearney, now the NetballSmart programme lead, and a “stalwart of netball in New Zealand”.
“It certainly kept me on the court a number of times.”
As the most popular sport for females in New Zealand, with over 136,000 players nationwide, netball also causes a high rate of serious knee and ankle injuries in female players.
That’s why Kennedy advised her players to invest in their bodies.
“The cost of a major injury is huge, so, the more you can do to prevent injuries happening in the first place, the better off you will be.”