Team Placement at Reckitts Netball Club is completed by running annual team placement screening days which will normally take place in July and is for teams entering the Netball season from September. These are for all current members and any player 11 years or older interested in joining the club.

About Team Placement
As an inclusive club, Reckitts Netball Club relies on a Team Placement screening session to ensure players are placed in a team that best matches their skill and ability. This allows players to maximise opportunities to develop and improve their netball skills across all levels of playing ability.
Most competitive netball clubs will also use some system of screening for their placements.

Importantly, the use of a Team Placement Screening system is vital to provide fair and even competition which ultimately leads to greater enjoyment of the sport.

Team Placement Session Attendance
Attendance at the scheduled session is mandatory for all players in open age down to players 11 years and over (Year 7 from September).

If a player is absent from Team Placement, the player's previous playing experience, coach's comments and other evidence may also be used to determine the placement of that player and they will be 'paper-graded' and placed into a team at the discretion of the Team Placement Group (TPG), based on previous knowledge of the player and in consultation with their last coach (where possible).

New players that missed Team Placement, for example, members joining mid-season will typically be placed in the lowest division team of their age group. This placement is then subject to review and confirmation by the Team Placement Group in the first three weeks of the team training (or longer if required).

Players must notify the Club if they cannot attend a scheduled Team Placement session.
If you cannot attend a scheduled session, you must notify the TPG. It is important that you notify the group as soon as possible if you cannot attend the session as trial games are carefully prepared prior to each session and it is difficult to make changes during the session.

Team Placement Screening Process
While netball is a team game, to be selected into a team, players must trial as an individual. Selectors are aiming to select the best possible players and combination of players for each relevant Team and Division where applicable, recognising the capabilities of players in different age groups. While the trials are an opportunity to observe the skills of players prior to the start of season, selectors also consider the potential for skills development with further coaching during the season.

During the registration process, the club requests information from the player regarding preferred playing positions and previous playing history. This information is used to assign playing positions for the session trial games.

For junior players, particularly in age groups where playing positions are still developing (for example 11, 12 and 13 years), players are generally considered for a team based on other areas of assessment such as ball handling, netball understanding and potential to improve. For senior players, playing position is considered more critical to the overall assessment.
While playing positions are still considered important, the TPG may also use other criteria to make a final assessment. A combination of squad training, skills and drills, and trial games are used for the session and this varies for each age group.

Team Placement Group (TPG)
Following registrations, all players are required to attend a session, where the TPG will ensure all players are placed into teams based on their age, ability, skill level, attitude and commitment.

During the previous season, all players are observed by the members of the TBG during their normal fixtures and training sessions to assess how they perform during a real game situation. This information will be used to assist the TPG for the following season.

Teams from previous seasons may not remain the same as players develop at different rates, new players join our club and some may not return. The number of teams and players in each age group may also change. Therefore it is important that everyone attends a Team Placement Screening Session and gives it their best effort.

What is the TPG looking for?
When placing a player, the TPG will generally look at the following key performance areas to make their assessment. The level of proficiency in these skills is adjusted relative to the age of the player.

Key performance areas (age-adjusted):
Individual movement skills
• Good footwork and change of direction
• Acceleration and deceleration
• High work rate
• Balance and control with and without the ball
• Speed, agility, endurance and elevation
• Athletic ability, body control and coordination

Ball skills
• Good basic ball handling skills under pressure
• Good pass selection options under pressure
• Selection of ball delivery finesse and 'touch'
• Accuracy of pass
• Catching ability (two hands and one hand)

Attacking skills
• Ability to read play and make appropriate decisions
• Effective use of space
• Timing
• Vision
• Player utility (i.e. can they play more than one position)

Defending skills
• Good one-on-one defending
• Good team defending
• Defence of a pass
• Defence of a shot and rebounding (for a circle defenders)
• Ability to read play and make appropriate decisions

Strategies
• Recognises and adapts to attacking/defensive strategy changes by opposition
• Creates and influences on-court strategies

Netball knowledge
• Court craft and ability to read the game
• Flair and creativity
• Ability to combine with other players
• Involvement in the game
• Knowledge of the rules and adjusts to umpiring decisions
• Position specifics
• Accuracy of shot
Character
• Consistency of performance
• Temperament, competitiveness and intensity
• Ability to concentrate
• Coachability - understanding and application of coaching direction
• Commitment and reliability
• Ability to accept responsibility of actions
• Does the player listen?
• Do they re-act?
• Social and team skills

Preferred Playing Positions
It is important to nominate your preferred playing positions during the registration process. If you have not supplied this information, you may not be trialled in your preferred position.

Notwithstanding this, players will be rotated around into multiple positions during the process. There are a couple of reasons for this (see below). While we will strive to give players adequate time in each of their nominated positions, this may not always be possible.

It is important to note that while players may nominate a preferred playing position for grading, Coaches and/or Team Captains are responsible for all decisions about team positions selection once the season commences.

Some examples of the reasons why players are moved around in different positions are provided below.

Filling in
When the TPG is not aware of a player's absence, there may be a vacant position left in a trial game which needs to be filled so the game can be played. Sometimes players are asked to volunteer to fill-in for the game even though it may not be their preferred position.

Balance of the game
In some instances, the trial game may be unbalanced (for example, if one team is scoring more than the other team and other players do not have an opportunity with the ball) so other players may be introduced or positions swapped to increase the strength of the other team.

Player comparisons
During the trial games, some players are deliberately played in a position in order to gain a comparison between two or more players. This is useful where two players are of a similar skill level. It can also be used to put players under game pressure by matching them with an opposition player that is evenly matched for their skill level.

Player combinations
Sometimes before a final team selection is made, player combinations need to be reviewed in a game scenario. This is particularly important for shooters and defensive players. It is also important for shooters and the mid-court to be working well together. Therefore some players may be placed in certain positions so that the selectors can see how well player combinations work. It also helps to uncover new player combinations if a player has not nominated in a certain position but performs well.