On more than one occasion in my life I have regretted not being able to speak up. I was one of the shy kids at school. The one who would be bursting to say something, only to be rendered mute by a sudden rush of adrenaline and then a few minutes later find myself beaten to the post by the kid that did speak up. I thought that I had put those days behind me but inside I am still that painfully shy girl and as I entered the inside of a school gym last week, for my first netball session in over half my life, I found myself regressing back to the girl of old.

Over the years I have often thought about playing netball again, not because I was some hotshot because I wasn’t, but perhaps to put to bed my regret of not playing in my secondary school team. At primary school I had played in the centre position in the ‘A’ team but when I progressed to secondary school, the competition was a lot fiercer and I didn’t get picked for their ‘A’ team. I decided that if I wasn’t going to get in the ‘A’ team, then I wasn’t going to play in the ‘B’ team either. It was a definite ‘cut off your nose to spite your face’ moment. There have been other opportunities to play over the years but I was always afraid it would be a bit too serious and I would be outclassed.

So cue a casual post on Wokingham Gossip Girls a couple of months ago from someone wanting to hear from ladies ‘who have played netball, maybe not since school but enjoyed it’. This was the kick that I had been waiting for. A lot has changed since school, mainly, I’m a bit (make that a lot) older, perhaps a little wiser and undoubtedly less fit but one thing hasn’t changed and that’s the rules of netball. Warm up over and we were being encouraged to pick a position off the floor. ‘Don’t be shy ladies’ hollered the coach. In my mind, I was thinking go ‘Wing Attack’ but shy I was and what was left, the dreaded ‘Centre’ position. Fine when you’re an elastic youngster who can cover the whole court without the threat of a stitch ensuing. By week 2 I had learnt my lesson and in true ‘I Did It Mummy’ style, I spoke with my feet and was the first to lurch forward to pick up the ‘Wing Attack’ position!

Any local ladies fancy joining me? Just to let you know that ‘Wing Attack’ is now taken!

‘I Did It Mummy’ fundraising for BIBS – https://www.justgiving.com/IDidItMummy