“If you build it, they will come.”
So says Ray Kinsella, the baseball-loving farmer played by Kevin Costner in the 1989 film Field of Dreams.
In the movie, Ray is tending to his crop when he hears the now famous line whispered. That, combined with a series of particularly vivid dreams, sees him build a baseball diamond. Soon after, long-deceased baseball champions emerge from the cornfield that surrounds it.
The film’s premise sounds ridiculous when spelled out like that, but the sentiment of that movie quote definitely strikes a chord with Bond University Bull Sharks Netball.
Bull Sharks Head of Netball Kim Boland arrived at Bond with its netball program hanging on by the fingernails and crosstown rival the Gold Coast Titans eyeing an opportunity to fill the netballing void.
But Boland – who had seen the Gold Coast junior talent pool up close for many years as a local representative coach – always knew there was room for two Gold Coast franchises.
“There’s a lot of incredible athletes here,” she says, “but too many were looking further afield for netballing opportunities.
“I was always quietly confident that kids south of Brisbane would respond really well to a well-planned chance to improve and compete locally.”
Boland reshaped Bond’s netball program from the ground up.
A commitment to the sport’s Gold Coast grassroots through junior and intermediate talent development became front and centre of her planning.
Two years on and things are starting to fall into place.
Not only is Boland now working alongside significant coaching talent in Bec Stower (Queensland U19) and Gavin Clarke (Queensland Suns U20 Men), but after a couple of lean seasons the Bull Sharks’ win/loss ledger is now looking much healthier.
Improved results in Ruby and Sapphire state league netball are only one indicator.
For real proof, look no further than the Bull Sharks U16 and U18 squads announced earlier this week. Both will represent Bond University at the State Titles later in the year.
Ninety percent of players selected have emerged through the Bond University Bull Sharks netball pathway that Boland and her coaching team have worked hard to build.
“It’s just so exciting to see these younger girls develop their skills and then stick around,” Boland says.
“We had some pretty challenging moments in the early part of this venture. We could have dangled all sorts of carrots to get high profile players to keep us higher up the tree, but we were adamant that embracing the local netball community and tapping into local talent as much as possible would be a much more sustainable way to go long term.”
Take, for example, a trio of young players selected in the U16 squad.
“Te Hani Ashcroft, Aphrodite Piri, and Holly Ferguson are a perfect illustration,” Boland says.
“It doesn’t seem that long ago that they were rocking up to Bull Sharks Cubs junior programs in the school holidays to sharpen up on the basics and fine tune their skills. Barely 12 or 18 months later they are getting selected in our more senior squads.”
A similar trend can be seen elsewhere with a number of Development and Emerging Elite Premier League players also seeing their name appear on State Titles team lists.
“Many of these girls have been in the Bond system for a while. They train together during the week and play on Friday nights in the Elite Premier League competition.
“Girls like Amelia Cotton, Kendall Urquhart, Roma Talaapitaga, Tayla Southall and Xanthe Maxwell have all earned their opportunity now. And you’d like to think that having these girls play together in a competitive, nurturing environment provides a pretty solid foundation for a State Titles campaign.”
The State Titles competition is the gateway to the Netball Queensland high performance pathway, itself a significant stepping stone to Suncorp Super Netball and even international honours.
The State Titles will be held over four days in September.
BOND UNIVERSITY STATE TITLES SQUADS
U16
Te Hani ASHCROFT
Olivia DAVIDSON
Holly FERGUSON
Jasmine FIDOW
Marli FRANCIS
Isabelle HOUGHTON
Layla MATHIAS
Scarlett OJIAKO-PETTIT
Hanna PERCIVAL
Aphrodite PIRI
Tayla SOUTHALL
Bridie STEWART
Roma TALAAPITAGA
Teina TINIRAU
Kendal URQUHART
U18
Amelia BAILEY
Isabella BATISTA
Amelia COTTON
Sasha-May FLEGLER
Joesi GISINGER
Jorja GISINGER
Sienna HYSSETT
Tehya HYSSETT
Elka MACAULAY
Xanthe MAXWELL
Alexia MCEVOY
Tia MURPHY
Pippa LETNIC
Ruby PARTRIDGE
Evie STOWER