East London men netting it too these days
Netball has come a long way from its basketball roots and being a sport played by women, writes
With the Aloes team being the only men’s side in the East London Netball Zone league, they have to play against women’s teams.
Women’s team coach Zodwa Mgoboli, who works with the Romans, a Mdantsane-based team, said: “It is good for the men to play against the ladies because it helps the ladies’ A team to always stay on their toes.
“It helps their game structure, it makes them play better and it raises the standard of playing,” she said.
Aloes multi-position player Xhamla Ngeyana described his netball experience as both “eye-opening and mind-blowing”.
“Netball was always something I wanted to do, so when I got the chance to do it I was happy. It felt so freeing,” he said.
Ngeyana said he fell in love with the game when he was nine years old and joined a girls’ team in his neighbourhood.
It was not offered at his school and there were no boys’ teams to join.
He went on to be selected for the 2014 Eastern Cape trials for the men’s division, which he mastered to secure a spot in the team that played in the men’s SA champs in Johannesburg that year.
“When I made the top 18 for SA Champs in 2014 I was overjoyed,” he said.
Men’s netball is gaining momentum in South Africa and other parts of the world.
The growth in the sport is evident on so many levels as there are leagues and competitions for the sport.
Port Elizabeth is one of the cities advancing men’s netball, as it has a men’s league for teams such as Framesby and the Devateos.
The Aloes often find themselves participating in these league games.
As further indication that the sport is gaining more popularity as a men’s sport too in South Africa, is that Durban will be hosting the international men’s netball championships later this year.