He came in late, but there's plenty of netball ahead for Sharp

Inaugural Wagga Netball Association men's player Ben Sharp has been selected in the ACT Griffins squad for the 2024 Australian Men's and Mixed Netball Championships. Picture by Les Smith

When Ben Sharp signed up to trial for the ACT men's and mixed netball squad, he thought he was just going for a pre-season run.

After he "tripped" through the first trial and "stumbled" through the second, the defender was selected as an athlete in the Griffins squad ahead of the 2024 Australian Men's and Mixed Netball Championships in Brisbane.

Enjoying his first taste of representative netball with Wagga Netball Association in June of this year, Sharp said he's well and truly been bitten by the netball bug.

Moving into outdoor netball after playing in a modified 5-as-side indoor competition, Sharp said it was quite an adjustment.

"My netball history is limited, I have played the mixed competition down at Nagle Street for two years and then we had the men's rep program which was a bit of a stepping stone into the world of seven players on a court," Sharp said.

"The ACT thing was just to have some match play before returning to seven people on the court before the Wagga men's program restarted.

"I'm just really, really enjoying the sport, I love the structure around it and that it really pushes you anaerobically as well, to play, it's hard work when you run flat out for four quarters."

Now in a high level environment, Sharp said there are expectations on the athletes to perform at a certain level, with ongoing testing part of their training.

Constantly re-earning their position in the squad, he said nothing is guaranteed, and it's pushing him to be a better netballer.

"They've got more expectations on what you need to be doing to be part of that team and while you were selected on the squad, there's other options that if you're not making the standards, they might say well we have a training partner who's really keen to come on instead," he said,

"So it's good because it holds you accountable for what you're doing, and I think it was just a sort of next natural step.

"I'm 34 this year, and came in very late to playing high level netball and I feel like you don't have forever, so I might as well take these chances while I can.

"I was not expecting to get in at all, I would have been happy to be a training partner, I just wanted that experience, so it was very exciting to get in.

"I think my wife Jaqui was probably even more excited than I was."

Wagga's Ben Sharp defends a Manly shooter in their day one game. Picture by Netball NSW

A natural-born defender, Sharp said it's a satisfying position to play.

"In defence, it feels you don't get those glory passes in from the edge of the circle, you're not involved really a lot in the centre in the mid-court where the ball goes actually down to it to attacking," he said.

"If you get a couple of intercepts for the game, you've had a good game, so it can often feel like you're not really having an impact, but if you stop a few baseline runs, block a couple of players coming to the circle, get a touch on a ball that happens to be a turnover.

"I get a lot out of that, a lot of enjoyment out of it."

Ready also for the upcoming Wagga Netball Association trials for State Titles, Sharp is excited for the increasing participation and promotion of men's netball.

"I think as a sport, it's only on the up," he said.

"It's especially really comforting to see the junior programs, I saw they have a competition here during the week and I saw a junior team that was all 12-, 13-year-old boys, playing netball and just the future they have, it's exciting.

"What's happening right now for netball with men and boys is unbelievable.

"We have our Wagga rep trials coming up, to go away to state titles, which is exciting enough in itself and it is a great chance for fitness, to meet some other blokes and play netball on the side.

"I see plenty of men around playing netball in the mixed scene, socially, and I'd love to get more of them involved socially."

Originally published in The Daily Advertiser. Thumbnail image by Les Smith for The Daily Advertiser.