The netball pathway, and staying on court to climb it
Netball is decided by footwork, and the footwork rule means you stop hard and land on a court that gives nothing back, hundreds of times a game. The athletes who climb the pathway are the ones whose knees and ankles are still there to climb it.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.
Australian netball's pathway runs from club and association netball to state 17/U and 19/U teams, which contest the National Netball Championships each year; national underage squads are selected after the tournament. From there the senior route runs through state premier leagues to Super Netball and the Diamonds. Physically, the athletes who progress land, decelerate and change direction well — and stay free of knee injury.
The 2026 National Netball Championships were held in April, before most club seasons are properly under way.
The netball pathway, step by step
Ages are approximate and details vary by state and year. Check your state body for this season’s trial dates and eligibility.
Club & association netball
All ages. NetSetGO, then club and association competition — where almost every elite netballer started.
Association representative teams
Around 12–16. Association and regional teams at state age championships. The first real selection step.
State 17/U & 19/U teams
17/U and 19/U. State teams selected for a high-performance program leading into the National Netball Championships — in NSW, a January-to-April program that includes structured strength and conditioning.
National Netball Championships
17/U and 19/U. Every state and territory contests two age groups. National squads are selected after the tournament and attend national camps.
State premier leagues
Senior. Each state's top league — the senior step between the underage pathway and the professional game.
Super Netball & the Diamonds
Professional. Australia's professional league and the national team.
What separates the athletes who move up
Selectors pick on skill and game sense. These are the physical qualities that decide whether that skill is on show — every week, and late in the game.
Landing and deceleration
Netball has one of the highest ACL injury rates in women's sport. The program is built around landing mechanics, deceleration and single-leg control first, and load second.
Single-leg symmetry
The single-leg hop test records the gap between your legs, and the weaker side is the number that matters. A large gap is a coaching signal long before it is an injury.
Elevation for the intercept
Vertical jump is in the battery because it decides contests in the air — and a jump program that ignores landing is one that eventually stops you playing.
Upper-body strength for the pass
The battery measures push-ups and overhead press rather than a bench press, because shoulder strength drives the pass and the intercept.
What the program measures
The netball battery in Train Smart: five tests, re-run every eight weeks, chosen to match what netball programs actually measure. Each linked test page has the protocol and, where honest published ranges exist, indicative bands to see roughly where you sit.
| Test | Measures | Unit |
|---|---|---|
| Yo-Yo Intermittent Recovery 1 | Repeat-effort capacity with recovery, which is how a game is actually played. | level |
| Max push-ups | Pressing endurance and trunk control with no kit required. | reps |
| Overhead press 1RM | Overhead strength for the pass, the intercept and the contest. | kg |
| Standing vertical jump | Lower-body power in its purest form, and the cheapest fatigue check you own. | cm |
| Single-leg hop for distance | One-leg power and the left-right gap that predicts injury better than either leg alone. | cm |
The number that matters most is your own previous one. A selector sees one testing day; the program sees every eight weeks of your trend.
The year before selection
State 17/U and 19/U programs run over summer into the National Netball Championships in autumn — so the athletes in them need to be at their best before the club season has really begun.
- September – December
- Off-season. Strength, single-leg control and landing capacity, with no match load.
- January – February
- Pre-season. Convert to power earlier than most sports — jump and landing sports hold a power block longer. Test on arrival.
- Representative window
- If you are in a state program, the championships sit at the start of the season. Peak for them, then hold.
- March – August
- In-season. Volume comes down, landing and prehab work stays, and availability is the job.
Where Train Smart fits, and where it does not
What it does: builds the physical side of the pathway — a netball-specific week around your team nights and games, a weight in kilos on every working set, prehab for the injuries netball causes, conditioning with a working pace, and a testing battery that tells you whether it is working.
What it does not do: coach your skills, watch your technique, or get you picked. No app can, and a page that tells you otherwise is selling something. It gives you the part of an elite program you can do on your own — so the time with your coach goes on the part you cannot.
Netball pathway questions
How do you make a state netball team?
When are the National Netball Championships?
How do netballers prevent ACL injuries?
Should netballers lift weights?
Related
Netball training program
The sessions, the season plan, the prehab and the full testing battery.
OpenHow athletes on a program pull ahead
The advantages a structured program gives you over the athletes you are competing with.
OpenYour first season, week by week
What happens from the first testing session to a year of blocks.
OpenStart building before the trial
Pick netball, answer a few questions, and your testing session is ready on day one — so the next time you are measured, you already know your numbers.
One month free, then A$24.99/month. Cancel any time. iPhone and iPad.