Caithness netball is shooting for the top
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SCHOOLGIRLS shooting hoops is resulting in netball becoming one of the fastest growing sports in Caithness which is now home to two teams which play in the Highland and Moray Netball League (HMNL).
Thurso-based Caithness Netball Club were one of four teams which founded the HMNL five years ago.
And due to a surge in the sport’s popularity, the league has more than doubled with Wick Netball Club becoming the ninth team to join.
The growth of the sport has been attributed to the number of players at schoolgirl level who are becoming regulars in the county’s senior teams.
This season, Thurso High School made the Scottish Cup bronze division final and in December the school’s senior team won the Highland and Moray Cup.
Caithness goal attack Shona Mackay said the success of schoolgirls at national level has led to half of their senior squad being under 18.
While other teams in the division may have more experienced players, she said the future of the sport is arguably at its most brightest in the far north.
“Thurso High School has done really well in their section of the Scottish Cup in recent years,” she said.
“We’ve been really lucky as their success is feeding through to our league team. Currently we have a squad of 23 players and at least 50 per cent of our squad are schoolgirls who are all really talented.
“There is a bright future for netball in Caithness and it’s the schoolgirls who are keeping the club going. Without them we would struggle to have players available to play league matches.”
The growth of netball in Caithness was highlighted when a number of Thurso-based players were invited to Orkney to take part in a Scotland selection training session where national coaches looked to find future stars.
PE teacher Seonaid MacDonald said the school has made massive progress in the last three years and their achievements at regional and national level are grabbing the attention of Scotland selectors.
She said: “The girls are always incredibly keen which has made our progress quite easy.
"When I first started working at the school in 2013, we had one training session for all year groups with 20 people coming along.
“But now we have senior and junior teams training every Monday and Thursday.
“Our senior section is becoming a real force to be reckoned with and four of our players were invited to take part in the national selection process.
"Although none of them was selected to go further, one of the coaches said one of our players had real promise for the future.”
This season Wick Netball Club became the ninth team to join the regional set-up with the HMNL now consisting of two teams each from Dingwall and Inverness with clubs also based in Gordonstoun, Lossiemouth and Fort William with Caithness in Thurso.
Due to the league’s large geographical area, teams only play each other once a season and almost all matches are played in Inverness and Dingwall.
Matches between Caithness and Wick are played in the county but Mackay (28) said the club’s main priority is to ensure players are getting games, wherever they take place.
“It is a case of if clubs don’t want to come up here we have to go there,” she said. “However, it is something we do accept as part of playing in the HMNL. "Sometimes clubs do travel north, but they try to play us and Wick on the same day due to the costs involved.”
Geography is also a problem for Thurso High whose first experience of competitive action is the Scottish Cup due to no school league set-up in the north Highlands.
But MacDonald (25) said the limited chances to make an impression in competition has developed a determination among the school team to make the most of the opportunity.
“The Scottish Cup is usually Thurso High School’s first game of the season,” she said. “For most schools in the central belt, they’ve played in leagues beforehand to build up to the Scottish Cup.
“But I think it means more to Thurso because they don’t get as much competition as other schools. So they thrive on the chance to play and want to do really well.”
Caithness currently lie in sixth position and Wick ninth in the HMNL but with both teams having young squads they are considered as teams for the future.
Originally from Shetland, Mackay, who lives in Dunnet, said both Shetland and Orkney have strong county league setups which have a number of teams playing each other on a regular basis.
Within the next few years, it is hoped to establish a Caithness county league consisting of a number of teams and then field a Caithness select side to take part in the HMNL to help the sport grow even stronger.
“Orkney and Shetland have their own league setup which is quite successful and that is what we would love to see here,” she said.
“If we could establish a league and then form a Caithness select side to play in the HMNL, the progression for netball in the area could be huge.”
