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Contact ruling and short passes.

Now please correct me if Im wrong, but I played a game of netball today, and there was so much contact and obstruction that was not being picked up. Both teams were complaining about it, and when we asked the umpire why none of it was being picked up, she replied, that its only contact if you have complete possession of the ball. So basically if you do not have the ball you can push your player out the way and that isn't contact (by this state umpire....apparently) we were absolutely floored and were having a huge laugh at this. Is this what netball is coming to? I have never heard this before and would love for some opinions if i have completely got contact and obstruction wrong. Secondly, I have recently taught my U11s shooters to pass around the goal post for a back line throw in. My question is, what constitutes a short pass in this instance, as they apparently (I was on the opposite side of the court) didn't have much between their hands when they passed, but didn't get called and the umpire was right there. GF is this weekend and would hate for them to do it and get called, so just wanted to get some clarification from some of the umpiring gurus on here.
Lee-annes NetballCoach, Australia

Contact on the Ball by GD?

My GD is tall and has a very good stretch when marking the shoot. She anticipates well, and when she sees the shoot about to release the ball, times her action and from her stretch, flicks her hand to try to deflect the ball from its path. In a recent game, she was continually pulled for contact when doing this. She felt either the shoot had raised the ball up into her hands (and it should have been the GD's possession), or the shoot had actually released the ball before she then deflected it, rather than her knocking the ball from the shoots possession. The umpire after the game was happy to discuss and said the GD had been penalised for knocking the ball out of the shoots hands, and should have stuck with the stretch and not added the flick. Any advice?
Susan DonaldCoach, England

Court spacing, the theory behind it

Hi all I am desperately seeking knowledge of court spacing. I am the coach of a team of 11 year olds and I don't have much playing history to speak of. The girls are still at that point where they all seem to lead for the ball and crowd the space around the ball. My problem is that I don't know the theory around who should be leading and who shouldn't be. I want to gain an understanding of the fundamentals of team play myself - who should be hanging back and who should be going for the next pass. I have done the Australian foundation coaching course but it didn't seem to cover this area. I would love to see a video of a coach teaching young players this concept. Does anyone know of any books, blogs, youtube videos that may come in handy? Thanks to all, love reading all the informative questions and answers.
Betty NelsonCoach, Australia

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