Sarah Oliver
Melton has received a boost with the club welcoming Chris Cameron as its coaching director for the 2022 Ballarat Netball League season.
Cameron, who has played for both Australia and Victoria in the sport said he was excited by the challenge at the Bloods.
He said initially he wasn’t looking for an opportunity like this.
Cameron had been coach at Wallan in the Riddell District Netball League, where he helped reestablish their program and help make them one of the best players in the competition.
“From what I’ve witnessed so far, it seems to be a great club – very inclusive and well established. So I’m excited to see what I can do with the netball side of things,” he said.
“What I can bring in there to add more depth to an already successful club.”
Cameron said he’ll be doing a lot of behind the scenes work, mentoring coaches, developing training programs and building structures so that they have some consistency.
He said that he would also take on some elements of coaching at the club, but didn’t want to overcommit having signed with Victorian Netball League side Boroondara Express as an assistant coach.
“When I’ve got that available time, I’m more than happy to get out there and be coaching,” he said.
“Once the season takes full swing, you will see myself a lot more than what I envisioned at the start.
Cameron said he knows the club has a massive core group of players, but that they will be able to hit the ground running once they select teams after trials.
The side was sitting eighth with four wins when the season was called off due to the pandemic.
For Cameron, he discovered his passion for netball when he was about 10 years old watching his sister play.
As it was the early 1990’s, there were no boys teams so he began playing with the girls and realised he loved it.
But he could only play till the age of 13, where he was forced to look elsewhere to play sport.
“I did all of my junior years up until 13, then there was no platform [for boys] so I had to play basketball until 18,” he said.
Once he was old enough, he got back into netball.
“That’s where I found my love for it again.”
In 2011, Cameron moved to Melbourne where he found a pathway through the Victorian Mens League and Victorian Men’s and Mixed Netball Association, which he is still a part of.
Cameron said it’s not frowned upon as much for boys to play netball as it was in the early nineties.
“There’s been a lot of tough times, but I look at it today and I don’t regret anything,” he said.
He said he feels the recognition of netball being an inclusive sport has grown in the last five to six years.
Cameron still plays but said as he’s gotten older, he’s had to listen to his body to slow down but that he’s found an outlet with his involvement in netball outside of playing.
“It’s not a job for me – it’s a passion and I want to continue to give back to the sport as much as it’s given me over the years.”
