Netball is one of Ghana’s next up-and-coming sports and there has been a significant increase in the number of players joining the sport in the last few years. Although Ghana does not have a history of mass participation in netball, there is an increasing desire to play netball in the schools and universities. Ghana also boasts a structured league system with a number of decent club teams training and competing on a regular basis. This has helped fuel the emergence of a much improved national squad with a number of very talented players. However, the opportunities for children to play and develop at the grassroots end of the game are extremely limited, especially in the more rural areas. This why you can make a real difference to many aspiring netball players by volunteering as a community netball coach in Ghana.

 

Your netball placement will involve organising coaching sessions in the local schools and clubs. Most of your players will come from poor backgrounds, never having had the chance to play netball before. By volunteering in Ghana, you will therefore give a number of children access to the sport, either to enjoy it as a fun hobby, or to nurture raw talent that would otherwise go unnoticed. The netball teams you volunteer with range from U10 to U18 and vary in ability and experience, but all are an important focal point for the community. The young netball players will train and play hard during your coaching sessions, many dreaming of playing for their national side, as most young athletes do.

 

However, coaching netball in Ghana is not all about rigorous training and hard work. Your key goal is to simply allow more youngsters to play as part of a structured netball team, giving them a sense of belonging that is so important to any aspiring netball player. We therefore welcome netball volunteers with varied levels of coaching experience. We just ask that you have played on a regular basis, have a good understanding of the game and possess a basic grounding in netball coaching principles. Enthusiasm and commitment will fill in the rest. So, whether you are a school, club or county player, or even a qualified coach, you will be able to contribute to the development of netball in Africa through our netball project.

 

As a volunteer netball coach in Ghana, you will help local sports coaches run the training sessions and netball matches for your team. This may sound daunting, but you will soon realise that you have an understanding of netball that the young players are desperate to have. The rewards are great because the talent is often there but the experience of a team structure is lacking. By introducing the basics of passing, shooting, movement and position holding, your netball players will develop rapidly. Furthermore, our netball volunteers are not left alone. You will work alongside our in-country team and our other volunteer sports coaches. You will also see that the competition between the volunteers can get quite heated at times! However, whether it’s complicated technical plays or intense shooting drills, you will soon develop your own netball coaching programme unique to you and your players.

 

In some cases, if you have sufficient netball coaching qualifications and experience, you may be given sole responsibility of managing your own local netball team. You may also be asked to train local coaches and help them improve their netball coaching skills.

 

Coaching netball in Ghana will not only be loads of fun, it will provide a great cultural exchange between you and your netball players, as well as the local staff you work with. You are sure to leave Ghana with close friends and fond memories of your time there, both on and off court.

 

A netball gap year in Ghana is the perfect way to combine gap year netball coaching with gap year travel in Ghana. You will meet other gap year volunteers, coach netball and enjoy a fantastic netball gap year experience. So, if you love netball, make sure you consider a netball gap year in Ghana.