NETBALL: Bowman hoping to net more glory

  Later this month, Magherafelt netball star Lisa Bowman embarks on a trip to Australia for her second Commonwealth Games.  She tells Michael McMullan of her early passion for netball, the path to the world stage and how she hopes to increase the popularity of the sport. IT has always been netball for Magherafelt’s Lisa Bowman.  She was barely through the gates of Magherafelt High School, when PE class introduced her to the game that has taken the Northern Ireland goal shooter to the four corners of the world. Florida.  The Cook Islands.  Singapore.  Netball has opened the door of opportunity.  The passport is well used and in less than three weeks, there will be another stamp added. Along with her younger sister Kyla, Bowman will jet off to Australia as part of Team NI’s netball squad. The bags aren’t packed just yet.  With storm Emma about to bring the sporting calendar to a grinding halt, there is still work to be done. It’s a Baltic Wednesday evening but arriving at Greenvale Leisure Centre for another strength and conditioning slot with coach Eoin McNicholl, Lisa takes time to lift the lid on her career. “It all started back in first year with my PE teacher Mrs (Eileen) Tester.  That’s when I started off playing school netball,” she recalls. “I gradually moved into the Golden Cow Games, I progressed through trials for selection to national squads.” After trying her hand at other sports like badminton and hockey, it was netball that won through.  There was a drive and a passion that couldn’t be replicated and within a few short years netball dragged all the harder. At the age of 15 she was drafted into the Northern Ireland U17 squad.  The flipside of the initial high, was a subsequent low. Bowman was born with Hammer Toes and after years on the waiting list, the call finally came.  But the timing left a lot to be desired. “I went in for an operation on my toes and the coach thought I wouldn’t be back in time,” she explains of the decision to drop her from the squad. “Obviously I was very disappointed that I wasn’t kept on.  I rehabbed very well and came back quicker than anticipated.” She didn’t sit idle for long, as Bowman outlines of her first international selection: “In the meantime the senior Head Coach, Denise Prue, selected me to travel with the senior squad to Hull. “That was the first tournament and the first time we ever won a gold medal at the European championship.  I was quite shocked and I went away not expecting to get on the courts but it was just an experience to be there.” Since then it has been non-stop on her way to amassing 59 international caps.  Almost.  The birth of her two sons Harry (7) and Charlie (5) put netball on the back burner for the best part of three years. There could have been a third Bowman sister on the plane ‘down under’ but studying at University in Wales keeps Jenna, the youngest of the trio, out of the squad. Their mother Janette played netball at school and like so many parents in the sporting world, did all the ferrying to training and games. “Without her continued support either emotionally or with looking after the boys, I wouldn’t be able to continue performing. “When we were back in High School, there wasn’t as many club as there are nowadays.  We initially started with the club closest to us and that was in Ballymena – Seven Towers,” Lisa explains. “Then when I came on the international scene, there was an expectation you need to be playing at a certain level of club netball.  It is only going to help you with international netball.” Lisa joined Lisburn based Larkfield Ladies, coached by Denise Prue. “That’s a fair bit of travelling.  Every Tuesday night for training.  Matches were usually on a Friday night and you had your squad training on top of that.  That was mum taking us everywhere, we weren’t driving back then.” HECTIC Getting primed for Australia is the main focus now.  Two gym sessions under the eye of Eoin McNicholl.  A squad session every Thursday and every other Sunday. It doesn’t end there.  Lisa has spent three seasons (not consecutively) playing for the Team Northumbria in the Vitality Superleague. In her working environment, she has been coaching netball for the past five years. “I am the EBA (Everybody Active) coach for Antrim and Newtownabbey Council,” she points out.  “It is with schools and with community groups.  I am starting wheelchair basketball on Friday. “I am trying to get disability included more into netball – social groups.  Anything to get netball more recognised and make it bigger and better.” Does she suffer burnout from a constant exposure to netball? “Not as yet,” replied Bowman who recognises the benefits it brings. “Coaching is like playing, you are always learning, you should never be satisfied that ‘this is all I need to know’. “Going to club sessions or even the sessions with Elaine (Rice) with the Team NI senior squad.  There are things she does that I can interpret and I include in my plans.” The influence has impacted the local scene.  She started up the Magherafelt Spires netball team, which she always coaches. “When I was young, there were no clubs in our area so we had travel.  So I wanted to start a club here and we are now going three and a half years.” FINAL THROW The netball schedule runs from September to May – almost like a school term.  Variation is dependent on Commonwealth Games or the World Cup, as Lisa explains. “With Netball NI being a company, they are aware of the competitions coming up and it is well organised around it (international).  I am over playing for Team Northumbria. That whole league is stopping the weekend before everybody is due to leave for Australia. “It is stopping for the whole duration of the Commonwealth Games because there are so many netballers that are away and it will commence the weekend after we come home.” After competing at the previous games, 2014 in Glasgow, Bowman is well-versed on the stakes being ramped up. “It is the intensity.  You are playing match after match.  The only real (similar) competitions are Netball Europe, where we are playing three games in a row, you play Friday, Saturday and Sunday. “When you go to the Commonwealth and those type of championships, you are playing five or six games, days after each other.” Away from the court, the buzz continues.  Mixing with different sporting disciplines in the Athletes’ Village brings another perspective. It is not just netball, it is more than that: “You are not going away as a netball squad, we are Team NI and meeting all the different athletes.  Seeing that we are not the only ones putting our social life on hold.  Everybody is in the same boat because they want to represent their country.” It was summed up with one of Lisa’s ‘social highlights’ of the 2014 games– getting a photo with Usain Bolt who was strolling leisurely around the village in Glasgow. Four years ago the netball team finished seventh. “We are hoping to finish sixth,” states Bowman of the target this year.  “Medals probably aren’t on the cards for us, as a country, but we want to finish one better than the last time.” They head out on Friday, March 23 with a series of warmup games on horizon before their opening game on Thursday, April 5 against the hosts – Australia.  They are also paired with Jamaica, South Africa, Barbados and Fiji. “We have a base and everything is on site.  There is no chopping and changing.  Our head coach and all the commonwealth games officers all took a trip out to get a feel for everything.  It will leave everything prepared when all the athletes arrive.” Lisa sees this as a possible last throw of the dice.  Playing at this level is a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience.  She has been blessed to get a second chance to taste the top of her game. “I am 29 now.  I don’t know if I will stick around or if I will be fit to play at this level in another four years.  I will be going to play like it is my last time at a Commonwealth Games.” The toughest part is spending time away from Harry and Charlie. “The low points will be missing the kids and having to be away for nearly four weeks.  Facetime and all those types of forums will be used well.” NERVES Her next game is her 60^th time representing her country, yet it is treated like all the rest. “I always get nervous before every game, no matter who we are playing.  Whether that be club or a social mess around - I always get nervous.  I try to make sure I have the same routine before every game.” Explaining the mental side of her game to the children she coaches, the reference point is Ireland rugby star Johnny Sexton. “He does the same before every kick, so you can relate it to that.  I like to do the exact same thing before every match.  It is mental imagery in some ways.” Aside from the time in the gym and on the court, Bowman’s role as goal shooter demands more preparation.  Like soccer, like basketball, like any other sport – scoring is the main ingredient.  It separates the winners from the also rans. “I have my own netball post out in the back garden.  I am out most days, once if not twice, shooting,” Bowman reveals of her need to go the extra mile.  “It is all different.  Sometimes I am out and it could be stationary shooting, standing and shooting with two feet, with one foot. “Some days I am out and it will be a case of do a couple of runs, shoot 10 (throws), do a couple more runs – like fatigue shooting.  So that come the fifth or sixth game in a row, you can still put the ball in the net.” Support is something Bowman has been blessed with. “Denise Prue has been a massive influence and facilitator.  Even outside of Netball, in my actual studies.  She helped me get into Jordanstown to do my degree. “Even if I felt I had a bad game, she was always somebody I felt I could turn to.  Even as a coach, I would approach her if I had any issues, or had anything to do with netball.  She has coached at international level and is full of knowledge.” GRASS ROOTS Pitting yourself against the top players in the world is one thing, but Bowman hasn’t forgotten her roots. Sitting in the café of Greenvale Leisure Centre, the Tobermore Social Netball logo on Lisa’s jacket prompts another question. “There were a couple of girls who wanted to start social netball,” she replies.  “Purely because the club I take are in a league and we play more competitively. “Quite a few just wanted social netball, so they started up a club in Tobermore.  Two of the girls have qualified as level one coaches and I would have went and helped out when I could.  This (jacket) was a Christmas present.  It great to see that they appreciated it (the help) and they are doing well.” Bowman’s advice to those wanting to take up the sport are simple. “To enjoy it and if you are playing it in school, get yourself to a local club.  There are clubs all over the country, so there is bound to be one nearby. “Keep practising and attending your training.  If you are a shooter, get a netball post for the garden so you can get out during the day when you come home from school.” There is also the need to be flexible.  In her days with the Golden Cow Games’ squads, she played as a goalkeeper.  Once again, Denise Prue’s influence steered her with career changing decision. “It was Denise, when she picked me up, who moulded me into a goal shooter.  That was just what she saw in me and if it had not have been for her, I would not be going to the Commonwealth Games.” She also pays tribute to the support team.  With the interview drawing to a close, her latest gym session is just a few minutes away. “Commonwealth is the main goal so we are trying to load.  Eoin (McNicholl) is very good in that he does it specific to position.  Obviously shooters don’t need to run and run and run.  Centre courts do.  Every programme is specific to the position everybody plays on the court. “A lot of my work is strength, power, agility and explosiveness.  The programmes are done in six week blocks and they are changed to something else, so we don’t get bored or it doesn’t become tedious.” The support doesn’t stop there.  Video Analyst Mark McAreavy dissects the performance into player specific segments and sent out via a smartphone app. “We don’t have to watch a full match.  We can watch different things for a team – like centre passes. So it is specific,” outlines Bowman. Back in January a fractured ankle and ruptured ligaments threatened to put her season on hold but that’s when the medical team burst into action. “I got straight into the Ulster Independent Clinic in Belfast.  I got a MRI a few days after the session and because I got it (scan) so quickly, it is the reason why I am back fully fit again, just six weeks down the line.” That is water under the bridge.  Australia is calling. Lisa and Kyla Bowman will carry the local hopes going as they enter the Convention and Exhibition Centre on the Gold Coast. It is a long way from her teenage days.  There have been plenty of balls shot into the net since learning the game at Magherafelt High School. All for days like this.  For Lisa Bowman, it has always been netball.