Will To Win - Dr Farah Palmer on why netball was her first love

The team haka, 1963. Photo / supplied

Dr Farah Rangikoepa Palmer captained the New Zealand Black Ferns team to three consecutive Women's Rugby World Cup wins in 1998, 2002 and 2006. In an extract from Will To Win, she talks about rugby, netball and leadership.

Rugby may be romantically considered New Zealand's national sport but until recently that has only reflected the male part of our national obsession with team sports. Netball, on the other hand, has held the reputation of being New Zealand's national team sport for women, with more than 300,000 participants playing some version of the game.

Netball was and always will be my first love when it comes to organised sport. As a young child, I remember three generations of women making the 40km round trip from Piopio to the Te Kuiti netball courts to watch my mum play. It was a Saturday morning ritual we all looked forward to. I'd be running along the fence line close to the courts, with Nana keeping an eye on me. Meanwhile, Mum played netball enthusiastically in her pleated skirt, tie-up bib and white Bata Bullets shoes. I soon followed in her footsteps and played for our local primary school. In the 1980s my netball initiation kicked into overdrive when Silver Ferns netball stars became my idols. Lois Muir was a household name; the dynamic defensive duo of Tracey Fear and Waimarama Taumaunu inspired me (I fancied myself as a defence player back then!); the flair and spatial awareness of Rita Fatialofa and the energy and cheekiness of Sandra Edge, the "Margs" — Margharet Matenga and Margaret Forsyth — blew me away; and we all felt the dream of wearing the silver fern was even closer when local girl Rhonda Wilcox (nee Meads) donned the black dress for Aotearoa New Zealand. The dream came even closer when fellow Piopio-ite Jenny May Clarkson (nee Coffin) also became a Silver Fern from 1997 to 2002.

The 1963 netball team. Photo / Supplied

For me the 1990s meant a change of city and a change of sport from the round ball to the oval ball. I didn't fall out of love with netball and always thought I'd return to the Bata Bullets someday. That day happened after retiring from rugby and having my first child. Netball seemed like the best way to get back into shape and regain my sense of identity and the feeling of camaraderie I got when playing for the Black Ferns. I also believed netball culture, with strong female engagement everywhere, would be supportive of a mum wanting to find her mojo again. Netball was a sport I could easily take my child to, where they'd be safe with many people on the sidelines volunteering to keep an eye on them. The games didn't take too long and everyone understood what it was like to squeeze in a bit of "me" time with a young family. I continued to play netball through both my pregnancies and enjoy playing to this day. Some days it is a challenge to put on the netball uniform and drag the kids out the door but the competitive spirit kicks into gear when the whistle blows and it is all on! Afterwards I feel exhilarated, exhausted and satisfied. It is important for women of all shapes, sizes, circumstances and abilities to be active, connected and energised. Perhaps that competitive spirit that comes with playing at the elite level never leaves.

Will To Win, The New Zealand Netball Greats on Team Culture and Leadership, Massey University, $40.

The approach to culture and leadership in the Black Ferns team was not far removed from what I had learned through playing netball as a child and teenager. It included having clear goals, respecting the wisdom of those who have skin in the game, pushing each other to be better, encouraging a collaborative style of leadership, appreciating that a division of labour is better for the team; and celebrating that diversity brings strength. The underlying values and attributes expected in high-performance sport are often similar, yet they may be demonstrated through different rituals, artefacts, language and symbols. I'm sure the Silver Ferns over the years have adapted these "visible" signs of team culture and leadership to reflect their core values and attitudes. It is important to note, however, that with the korowai (cloak) of mana that comes with wearing any black uniform comes great responsibility. I am a strong believer that there is often a greater expectation for female athletes and sports teams to be the moral guardians of society. It comes with gendered expectations that are still dominant in New Zealand, which are not necessarily fair or right but are the reality in many situations.

Lois Muir in action in Adelaide, 1960. Photo / Supplied

During my first season playing rugby, I "performed" many of the netball rituals that had become instinctive to me and which perhaps are more traditionally aligned with behaviour considered to be fair play; behaviour such as clapping when the opposition scored, going out of my way to thank the umpire and opponents, helping out players who fall or injure themselves, helping out off the field with what needed to be prepared/packed away, and generally playing fair but hard. Some of these rituals were drummed out of me, but they were always there, dormant, waiting to be reignited. There were also technical skills I gained in netball that helped me in rugby and life in general, such as effective communication (both verbal and physical), spatial awareness and vision, embracing hard work and flair, and the ability to adapt to any situation or opponent.

High-profile female athletes and teams in New Zealand are, whether they like it or not, role models, rangatira (leaders) and kaitiaki (guardians) for future generations. This leadership by example can add to an already high-pressure situation, and those who rise to that challenge, who are prepared for these expectations and are resilient can survive and increase their sphere of influence. I just hope we are wrapping enough support around our elite female athletes and teams, such as the Silver Ferns, to cope with this heightened expectation.

Will To Win, Massey University Press, $40

Dr Farah Rangikoepa Palmer is Associate Dean Māori for the Massey Business School and a senior lecturer in the School of Management, Massey University.

ANZ Premiership Netball is back on court, on Friday, June 19: 45 matches over 10 weeks.