When the guys at Telstra told me that a netball team from Gove had won the Supercoach competition, I was super excited to be visiting a place that not many people get to go to.  Most people asked “where is it” when I told them I was going to Gove to coach netball.  The answer of course is the far north eastern tip of Arnhem Land.  It is remote, and it is spectacular.

We arrived at 8:30am to a mild morning and were  greeted by competition winner Dave Mitchell, Gayili Marika and members of the Miwatj Sparks netball team, who were to show us around for the day.  We drove out of the airport and our first impression was how red the dust was.  You hear about the colour of the dirt, but it’s not until you see it that you really appreciate it.

First stop was Yirrkala and its world renowned Buku-Larrnggay Mulka Art Centre and Museum where I was privileged to be given a tour of the gallery and museum, including the famous Yirrkala Church Panels. What an amazing place! There were beautiful handwoven baskets, bark paintings and memorial poles on display, as well as some linocut prints being produced in a side room.  I purchased some baskets and walked away happy – who would have thought I would get the chance to shop so early! I wasn’t the only one of the group to give the credit card a little workout …

Then it was onto the Yirrkala Community School, where we met some of the students and their dedicated teachers.  We had a chat to them and then Diamonds squad member Caitlin Thwaites ran some of the girls through a quick shooting game.  They loved it – and Caitlin! – and were keen to show us their skills.

The morning had slipped away too quickly and so after a quick bite to eat it was time for a bit of a siesta before the all-important coaching clinic.

Before the clinic the Sparks were presented with a Telstra phone and a heap of netball equipment for their ongoing use.

In return I was presented with a magnificent didgeridoo hand-painted by some of the players from the Sparks.  I was absolutely touched – it is a beautiful piece of art that will take pride of place in my house.

Then the hard work began!

Caitlin ran the girls through a typical Diamonds warm up, which they loved, and then it was onto footwork and ballwork.  The girls had told me that they were getting picked up in their games for stepping, and that’s what they wanted to work on. Pretty soon we had their twinkle toes dodging around cones and coming to a stop when they caught the ball – most of the time!

We moved onto some specialist work where Caitlin took the shooters and I took everyone else to brush up on defence.  We finished off with some matchplay, where the Sparks got to put their newfound skills into action.  It was great to see how hard they worked and how much they enjoyed it.

Finally it was time to go, and we said our goodbyes to Dave, Gayili and the Sparks team.  We had had such a fantastic day it was difficult to leave.  We got onto the plane to head back to Darwin all hoping that we will get to visit Gove again soon.