Hydra Stars Netball

Happy New Year from the Hydra Stars fam!

What will 2024 look like for us?

- Lots of FUN
- Learning and lots of growth
- Attention, focus and energy
- Training hard for each other
- Trying new things, facing new challenges
- Connection
- Celebrating each other’s achievements & lifting each other up
- Brushing off the losses & learning from them
- New goals
- Did I already say lots of fun!?!

Bring on the 2024 season! 🙌🏻

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Merry Christmas!

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Today we celebrated our girls and the fabulous season they’ve had!
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We still can’t believe what we achieved this year - we had a little idea to build our own team around friendship’s, under an experienced coach who could help develop our girls, who were all willing to do the extras and work hard! The stars aligned, we formed our team, secured our awesome coach, designed some pretty cool netty dresses and the rest is history!

Team culture was so important to us, and we’ve nailed that with these girls, their siblings & parents!! We LOVE our netball family and had the best day today!!

Congratulations to all our girls for achieving their Umpiring Bronze Awards - our inspirational mentors Maggie & Bonnie awarded them their certificates today!

Congratulations to our special award winners for the 2023 season:
🖤 Most Improved - Bonnie Lambkin
🖤 Players Player - Ava Siulai
🖤 Coach’s Player - Bailee Tarrant

We are beyond grateful to our Coach, Leah - we can’t thank you enough for all your hard work, dedication and endless hours! I don’t think you understand the impact that you’ve had on our girls this year! THANK YOU!

Thank you to our fabulous Sponsors who helped make this season happen! We are beyond grateful and can’t thank you enough for your support!

Once again girls, big congratulations to you all! We are so proud of each and every one of you!! You all worked so hard and have grown and developed so much this year, which is exactly what we hoped to achieve!

Enjoy your off-season! 🩷
Bring on 2024!! 🙌🏻

Congratulations to our Superstar Coach Leah Lee!! 🙌🏻

Newcastle Netball Association is pleased to announce the following personnel who have been appointed to NNA Senior Representative Teams for the 2024 representative season.

💚15 Years Team
Co-Coaches: Linda Brackenbury and Leah Lee, Team Manager: Dom Squires.

🤎17 Years Team
Coach: Lexi Unicomb, Assistant Coach: Emily Morgan, Team Manager: Velvet Murnane.

💚Opens Team
Coach: Trude Yen, Team Manager: Vince Angelozzi.

🤎Men’s Team
Coach: Dave Huey, Team Manager: Jann Huey

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Our girls attended the final Aspire Netball clinic today and were lucky enough to meet netball legends with thanks to Sam Poolman

Thanks for an awesome program our team loved it!

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A week has passed since these legends won their Grand Final! It’s still a pinch me moment!
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Words can’t express how proud of them we are! These kids worked hard to achieve what they did this year - from the moment the team was formed early January, they worked hard! From playing in Charlestowns pre-season Summer twilight comp, then straight into training, team training sessions, fitness sessions and more!

A big factor in their success was the team culture - the girls bonded quickly with thanks to our Sponsors who contributed to the team attending a Swifts game, afternoon at the pool together, dinners out and more! They are all so supportive and respectful of each other, and play hard for each other!

Big thanks to our amazing Coach Leah! Many of our girls have never been coached by an experienced, accredited coach before, and they were so excited for what was to come after their very first training session!! They learnt soo much and their netball development was incredible to see, for each individual player and as a team!!

We are forever grateful to all our amazing parents - we couldn’t have pulled this off without your support & help!!

Thank you to our amazing Sponsors:

✨ Vogue Residential Newcastle

✨ Baker Love Lawyers

✨ Hair We Are In Hamilton

✨ Sobelle Living

✨ OZZIE meats

✨ Hexham Bowling Club

✨ Riverside Bistro

✨ NHS
.trade

✨ Hunter Financial

✨ Hunter Coast Painting.

We are SO GRATEFUL for our fabulous Sponsors who have made HYDRA STARS possible in 2023 for our girls!! THANK YOU!!

BRING ON 2024!!

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GRAND FINAL details… come along to cheer our girls on!! 🙌🏻

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Final training session for the year! 😢
They made sure it was a good one!! ✨

It will feel weird not hitting the courts for training next week, and I honestly think these girls will miss seeing each other weekly!

The girls made a big commitment to each other about turning up each week, training with intensity and playing for each other, week in week out! The tight bond they have formed has been a huge part of their success - they respect each other, play their best for each other, and most importantly, have a lot of fun!!

Training attendance was very impressive from everyone - injured girls turned up to watch (and participate when they could), no one noticed or complained if training went longer than expected, and they were always up for the extra Nettyheads sessions when we offered them!

This season, the girls have scored 616 goals, and only conceded 128 goals! Those are some pretty cool stats and show they are a strong unit together, from one end of the court to the other!

We are immensely proud of these girls with everything they have achieved so far this year!! They have blown our expectations out of the water!

GRAND FINAL time tomorrow - you’ve got this girls, believe in yourselves! Good luck, play hard with intensity & let’s get the job done! 💥

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Fitness & Recovery //

Having the weekend off netball, we decided to hit the beach today for a great fitness & recovery session, and picked the perfect day for it! ☀️

They started with Merewether stair runs, stretching, and some great beach drills using our weighted netballs.

While the water was fresh, they all linked arms, braved the baths and did some gentle stretches to finish up nice and fresh! They initially didn’t want to get in, but in the end they didn’t want to get out! 🌊

The girls have trained well this week and are so excited for the gf next weekend!

Team Bonding //

This afternoon our girls came together to paint our netball post pad in celebration of NNA’s Indigenous Round.

The wonderful Lambkin family hosted and provided us with some cool tunes, snacks & drinks, while the girls had fun painting the pad with indigenous symbols that resonate with their netball, such as:
• boomerang (hunting for the ball)
• shield (to assist with blocking our opponent’s)
• kangaroo tracks (speed & agility)
• star (our team name)
• friends (our team)
• gathering (our team and teamwork)

They did an awesome job and had so much fun!

“Be A Voice For Generations”.

GRAND FINAL HERE WE COME! 🙌🏻

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Our girls had a dominating win against a very competitive, tough team! Our defence was on, our mid court was on, our shooters were on, and they all delivered a beautiful game!

Congratulations on your win today girls, it was well deserved! Soak in this excitement, continue to train hard over the next two weeks and finish your season strong! ✨

Looking forward to hitting the courts tomorrow in our Qualifying Final!

The girls have been training hard over the last two weeks, and are pumped to get back out there to play!!! They are hungry to make the big dance, and are keen to play their best for each other!!

You’ve got this girls!! Good luck, play hard with intensity & let’s get the job done! 💥

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Saturday Wrap Up //

They did it!! You are looking at NNA’s 12s Div 1 Minor Premiers!!

CONGRATULATIONS GIRLS!!!
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While we know the job isn’t done yet, we just need to take a moment to celebrate the growth these girls have had this year, individually and as a team. We are beyond proud of them all!!!

We can’t thank our Coach, Leah, enough for everything she has done for our girls - her netball knowledge and coaching has been exceptional and our girls have just thrived this year!!

We can’t wait to continue to watch our girls play good netball over the next few weeks! Let’s go girls!
BELIEVE IN YOURSELVES!!

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PS. We enjoyed weird & wacky hair day on the courts today, here are a couple of fun ones the girls rocked!

Big thanks to our parents who helped in the canteen today from 7-9.30am! You guys rock!! 🫶🏻

Looking forward to hitting the courts tomorrow - the last game of the round before finals!

The girls warmed up a little differently, doing the Nutbush while planking! 🙊

We worked hard on our defensive skills tonight, as well as nailing our prelims & drives! We look forward to seeing all the girls go “hunting” tomorrow!

Good luck tomorrow girls! Play hard with intensity & finish the round strong!

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PLAYER PROFILE 💫

Introducing one of our Shooting / Attacking stars, Bailee!

Cessnock Gala Day Wrap Up //

We had some rain on and off all day, but that didn’t put a stop to us hitting the courts for the last fun-filled gala day for the year!!

The girls had a brilliant day being challenged playing some older teams, they stepped up with GRIT - guts, resilience, intensity and tenacity, and finished the day strong!!

Winning 6 out of 7 games, the girls finished Runners Up!! 2nd out of 11 teams is pretty amazing!!

A big congratulations to Ava who took out Players Player for the day! Your defence Ava was once again incredible!! 🙌🏻

We are so proud of all our girls today - they worked beautifully as a team from one end of the court to the other! They stepped up to todays challenges and never gave up! We are beyond proud of them all!

A big thanks to our umpire Maggie, coach Leah, and all our wonderful families for their time and support today! 🥰

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Saturday Wrap Up //

Bella & Bonnie were up for Umpiring duties and did us proud as always, umpiring games with great confidence! The positive feedback we receive about our girls umpiring is so nice to hear! We can’t thank our two awesome mentors enough - Maggie & Jessie!! Our girls really appreciated your guidance during their umpiring duties this year, and really look up to you ladies! THANK YOU!
We look forward to see all our girls continue their umpiring development into next season!

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Our Hydra Stars faced another tough competitor and had a brilliant win! With only one more game before finals, the girls are determined to finish the season strong as Minor Premiers! Watch this space!! 🙌🏻

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We LOVED seeing 5 of our Hydra Stars represent their schools at the NSW Netball Schools Cup today!

Awesome work girls, we hope you had a lot of FUN!

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PLAYER PROFILE 💫

Introducing one of our defence superstars, Ava!

Saturday Wrap Up //

We celebrated NNA’s Mental Health Round by wearing our fluro ribbons and face paint, and loved hitting the court together, playing a game we all love!

A big stand out amongst our team is the friendships that our girls have made, through their love of netball! This then flows onto the friendships the siblings have all made playing together on the sidelines (or while climbing the trees), as well as the parents and extended families. We can honestly say we love seeing our netball family week after week, and really love the connections netball provides us all!

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Our Hydra Stars had another competitive game and really stepped up to the challenge, taking out the win!

The girls are training so hard, week after week, looking at improving their game as we approach the finals.

Keep up the great work girls!!! Believe in yourselves!!

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We had a great training session this afternoon - the girls gave 110% effort and pushed themselves hard!

Only 3 more games until Finals, time flies when you’re having fun!!

Keep working hard girls!

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Sunday night after our Maitland Gala Day, we finished the day with a team Dinner at Riverside Bistro, Hexham Bowling Club and we were lucky enough to snap a pic with the man himself, Ricky! Best Malaysian food ever!!

We are so grateful to our wonderful Sponsors for giving our girls so many opportunities this year, and having the support from both Riverside Bistro & Hexham Bowling Club has been incredible!!

Maitland Gala Day Wrap Up //

The sun was shining, so we knew we were in for a great day! Our dads were on early morning set up, and once again, jumped behind the BBQ to cook us up B&E rolls!

The girls had a brilliant day, being challenged and pushed out of their comfort zone with some physical play, winning 4 games and finishing the day with a draw against their toughest competitor. They finished equal first, and placed Runners Up on the ladder due to percentages and the luck of the draw.

Big congratulations girls!! You guys faced so many challenges today and never gave up! We are beyond proud of you all!

A big congratulations to Ava who took out our Players Player for the day! Your defence today was incredible and we love seeing your teammates acknowledge this!

We are so proud!

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Maitland Netball Association

Saturday Wrap Up //

What a stunning day! ☀️

Ava & Bailee had a nice early start with their umpiring duties today! Bailee was unfortunately not required being replaced by a badged umpire, so Ava flew solo and did an amazing job and umpired with great confidence!! Congratulations Ava, your Hydra Stars family are so proud of you!! 🙌🏻

Our Hydra Stars faced their first loss of the competition today against one of their toughest competitors! While our girls never gave up, unfortunately our fire just wasn’t there and they got pipped by 1 goal! Although it was a disappointing loss, our girls will take alot of lessons away from it.

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We’re excited to hit the Maitland courts tomorrow at the Maitland Netball Gala Day!
Good luck girls!! Play hard, play fair and most importantly, have FUN!! 🙌🏻

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Looking forward to hitting the courts tomorrow morning after another awesome week of training!

We started the session off a little differently, working on positive self talk - turning negative thoughts into positive ones!

We hit the court and worked on discipline, perfecting our court positions and drives, and topped it off with cupcakes in celebration of Lucy’s birthday!

Good luck tomorrow girls! Play hard & have fun!

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