Andover man Nets England call up

Gary began playing netball when he attended Shepherds Spring Junior School and took up the sport more seriously at 19 years old after being spotted at a tournament in London by the Mixed Netball Association’s coach who approached him to play in one on their squads, competing in various leagues and tournaments throughout London and the UK. He now plays in the PlayNetball North London league for Vamoose, who have won the title for the last two seasons. He has also competed for Vamoose at the past two international mixed tournaments in Javea, Spain, coming away victorious last year against teams from Spain, Malaysia, New Zealand, Belgium and the UK. Gary has also been part of an invitational men’s squad who trained against Superleague franchise the Brunel Hurricanes (now Surrey Storm) to help with pre-season training. Men’s participation in netball is common in Australia, New Zealand and South Africa and is growing in the UK, with an estimated 500 men playing in London alone each week, and many universities now have mixed sex netball squads. Professional rugby teams often have netball training sessions to hone their skills and it is fast being accepted as a sport that is not just for women. Action netball is a variation of the traditional game with the major difference being that the game is played on an indoor court which is surrounded by nets. As the ball can be played off the nets, play is continuous with no stoppages, making for a faster and much more physical encounter than regular netball. England will be sending four squads to South Africa: Men’s, Mixed, Open Ladies and U21 Ladies. The England Indoor Netball Association receives no funding from the government, or from the All England Netball Association, and therefore players are required to largely fund their own costs for kit, travel expenses between training venues in Bristol and London, and for travel to South Africa. Potential sponsors can contact him at garypatrickbrown@gmail.com.