Many people confuse netball for basketball, but the truth is there are several differences between the two. First, the number of players is seven per team in netball, compared to only five in basketball. Also, players are not allowed to dribble the ball, but pass it by throwing, and both the basket and the ball are smaller in size. Besides these small differences, those who play in social netball leagues in London have the same health benefits as those who play basketball.
There’s a lot of running!
You won’t need any jogging if you play netball, this is for sure. Netball implies a lot of running around the pitch, change directions extremely fast and sprint short distances, which will put your entire body muscle at work, even though the netball court is usually quite small. This will significantly improve your cardiovascular activity, strength, fitness and agility.
You improve hand-to-eye coordination and become more flexible
Netball is a game of speed, which means that players have to think and act quite fast in order to win the game. The ball has to be passed between members using various throwing techniques during the entire game and everyone on court needs to keep an eye on the ball. This will significantly improve one’s hand-to-eye coordination. Whether it is a high pass, a chest pass or a lower one, players must throw and catch the ball accurately. The fact that you will have to move and twist a lot will also makes you more flexible.
You improve your social skills
Just as any other team sports, netball implies a lot of coordination between members of the same team in order to be able to defend the opponent team and win the game. For this, you will have to communicate with your teammates and establish together what the best winning strategy is. This will also help you improve your social skills and will make you more open to communicating to other people (outside the netball court). For children for instance, playing netball is one of the best ways to help them develop and improve their social skills.
Although netball is a sport not as popular as basketball or football for instance, it comes with as many health benefits as the other ones. Playing netball on a regular basis has a good influence on your health and your lifestyle. This is why doctors strongly advise everyone to start playing netball or any other type of sport right away.