Netball

Before arriving in Australia I had never heard of the popular women’s sport netball.  As a typical American who is so caught up in American sports I had no interest in learning about a game that I thought was almost a mockery of basketball.  After spending a solid forty-five minutes watching and learning the sport of youth netball I was pretty impressed with this new sport and how competitive it was for a youth sport.  With that being said the whistle was blown almost every minute for some sort of infraction or foul which began to get frustrating because I felt that it was taking away from the nature of the game.  As a former basketball player I know that when referees call so many fouls it really takes away from the rhythm of the game, making it difficult to fully enjoy the game.  However, these young girls did not seem to be effected by the constant sound of the whistle and actually improved upon their playing skills as the game progressed.  Not to sound like a sexist but I was very impressed with the athletic abilities of some of these girls, especially at such a young age.  In general I think that Australians are more athletic than Americans and begin to do physical activity at a younger age.  I feel that it is uncommon to see children in Australia that are obese as opposed to home where it is a common issue.