Information on Grading within the FDAS Club

The reason we grade our U10s, is to ensure that all players of all varying abilities get to play with and against players of a similar skill level.  This helps to produce a fairer level of competition, a better fit within a team, more individual confidence and a more constructive learning experience.  It is certainly not meant to offend any player or parent.  We go to extreme lengths to make sure that our players are surrounded by friends and other people they know.  It is important however to keep in mind that we are playing against some highly competitive and well skilled opposition.   Although winning is part of competition it is not the sole objective, but neither is losing each week by an uncompetitive margin.  At no point is grading a personal judgment of any child or their family and at no stage do we emphasize the importance of being in a Division 1 team or a Division 4 team.  The emphasis is always on our players being given the opportunity to enjoy their participation in netball.  For these reasons we grade teams so that we can accommodate all levels of ability and allow each and every member the opportunity to play in a fair competition.

Our graders are experienced coaches who bring that knowledge and impartiality when assessing the skills of our players.  All this said our graders are human and are vulnerable to making an error of judgment, however rare this might be we know it’s not impossible.

What we ask for is your acceptance of the teams and the position given to your daughter for the coming season.  In reality there is not a great deal of change to the team make-up.

We agree that all our club members are excellent netballers, and we are proud to have them as representatives of our Club.  We understand that each player strives to be better and would like some recognition of that effort and achievement.

Please be proud of the team and give it your all when you are at training and playing a match.  Look forward to making new friendships.  For parents, please be objective and make sure your child feels happy and excited about playing netball.  Please be aware that we want your child to be successful and that it’s not about being in Division 1 or Division 4 it’s about being in a team sport, having fun and learning as much as you can.