Pre-Season Pro

The Shoe Series: Part 4. 👟 Elandrs!

We had sooooo many requests for this one!

The InfinitMax by Elandr was designed specifically for ankle protection. These have semi-rigid splints built into the shoe itself, plus a zip-up shroud over the top. No laces at all.

The ankle stability and support? Really good. The toe box is roomier than your standard netball shoe, which is great if you’re normally a D width or like a wider fit shoe. But because there are no laces, you can’t get that tight forefoot lockdown you’d normally lace up for and I did notice a bit of slipping through the midfoot.

Sizing runs UK 5–9 (AU 7–11 / EU 38–43.) These are £159 in the UK, and $300 AUD. I purchased these myself because you can’t try them on anywhere in Australia, so I paid $80 shipping on top.

Indoor and outdoor (win!) and the grip was fab… but I haven’t tested the longevity on an outdoor court for a full season to know how they’ll hold up. Worth looking into if you’re a player who goes through multiple pairs a year as it could get pricey!

They’re comfy, pretty easy to get in and out of, moderate cushioning and heel support, my socks stayed above them. Also surprisingly agile with braces in them. I did pull my socks up, and had leggings on, so I didn’t notice any rubbing at the top, but that could be an issue with shorter socks. The material is nice and lightweight, I could imagine them getting hot with the inbuilt braces— but again, I’m someone who doesn’t tape or brace!

My honest take? If you’ve got chronic ankle instability, or a history of severe ankle injuries, these are worth a serious look. If you’re like me and don’t have a history of ankle issues, the trade-offs might not be worth it for you. Personally, I missed the midfoot stability and flexibility through the ankle joint.

And as always faves, no shoe replaces strength and conditioning. Strong ankles and a strong body will always be your best first line of defence. Shoes are just the next layer on top of that. 😜

We recommend you get fitted for your bod and your biomechanics by a professional! This will help you know what shoe is for you 🙌

We hope to get our hands on

For a lot if years ‘netball fitness’ has looked like burpees, star jumps and endless running. 🥲

And it’s not that burpees are evil or that running is not important.

It’s that if I asked the coach why it’s in there and what the ACTUAL on-court transfer is, most couldn’t tell me.

When we select exercises, we should be asking— are they specifically designed to make you a better netballer? Are they backed by sports science? Are they building the physical qualities you actually need on court?

And this is where I have beef. 😤 Because a 12 year old still developing her movement patterns, a player returning from injury rebuilding her load tolerance, a 19 year old pathway player and a 40 year old netballer playing GK… They are not getting the same thing out of a burpee. They don’t have the same physical demands, the same injury risk profile or the same training needs. Gosh, they probably don’t even play the same position.

And when we do generic fitness, it doesn’t account for any of that.

That’s the difference between fitness and strength and conditioning. 😮‍💨

Strength & conditioning (by its literal definition) “uses evidence-based exercise to improve athletic performance, enhance physical capabilities and reduce injury risk.”

We have specific accreditations and really rigorous learning and implementation benchmarks because it’s specialised. S&C combines strength development with targeted conditioning to optimise how your body moves… FOR YOUR SPORT.

Netball has its own physical demands: the jumping, the dodging, the landing, the repeated high intensity efforts. These are not the same as marathon training, as golf, or even like basketball.

General fitness is great if you just want to be a healthy human.

But if you want to be an unreal netballer? You need training that’s specifically designed for netballers.

Every single program inside our app is built exactly that way, following the most current S&C evidence and designed specifically for the demands of netball. (And there’s not a single burpee in sight. 😉)

Comment or DM us the word APP and we’ll send you a free trial. 👇

Hit us with your best 👇

If you’re a shorter shooter coming up against a tall defender… this one’s for you. 😉

For GA and GS, (even if you play more of a feeding role) having a strong base, good timing and being comfortable under physical pressure is so important.

You’re copping contact from defenders. You’re screening for your other goaler. You’re holding for a rebound, splitting and re-offering, using the defender’s body to bounce off and create your own angles. The body work comes before the shot, every single time, no matter which attacking posi you play.

Tall defenders thrive on aerial contests, long reaches and high feeds they can pick off or deflect. The low game takes all of that away (and just to be clear, that doesn’t mean bounce passes everywhere!) It means putting the ball in the space they can’t get to. Low feeds across the front, sweeping angles, re-feeds, anything that keeps the ball out of the airspace where their reach is their # 1 weapon.

One of the biggest mistakes shorter shooters make is bending too low or going static. Neither works against a tall defender because their arms can get around both. What actually works is using your hips and your footwork to stay mobile and upright, creating a moving target, shifting angles, making them constantly readjust. The moment you stop moving, you make their job easy.

If they love the aerial contest… absolutely don’t give them one. If their strength is reach, block their arms and their space with your positioning. If they dominate when the ball goes high, keep it low and make them get down to your level. In every game there are things your defender does really well. Your job is to identify them quickly and systematically take each one away, one by one. 😏

Front position is everything on the rebound but don’t stay right under the post. Too close and a long-armed defender can simply reach over you. Push them further away from the ring with your footwork and you shorten the distance the ball travels to you while making it harder for them.

I’m a 176cm defender and my hardest match ups were the shorter shooters whose entire game was built around their height and their speed…

So don’t dismiss what you've got. 😉

Friendly reminder that downloading a home workout template off Google is not a netball pre-season program. 🙃

We’ve seen some doozies over the years. One coach handed a group of girls a full bro split: more upper body than you could shake a stick at. Pull ups, push ups, dips. And the “cardio” to go alongside it? Star jumps, squat jumps, broad jumps. A classic.

Other honourable mentions - a bikini body guide, 5km runs each week that you had to try and PB, and the ever popular burpees.

No lateral work… because netball obviously only moves in straight lines. 🙃 No force absorption, no deceleration, no landing mechanics and no single leg work — apparently we play off two legs at all times and never, ever change direction at full speed. 🤡

And sit ups. Just sit ups. Because the only core muscles that exist are the ones you can see in a mirror, yeah?

Our programs are different because we know what ACTUALLY moves the needle. 😉

Strength so you can hold your ground, beat your player and not be dying in the last quarter.
Plyometrics so you are explosive, you react quick and have the advantage in the air.
Speed and agility because netball is a game of short, sharp efforts, not a 5km run.
Conditioning that actually mirrors the work-to-rest ratios of a real game.
Mobility so you can move freely, load properly and stay on the court.
Landing mechanics so you land safely, produce more speed and stay uninjured.

And for the love of netball, some lateral work… because apparently someone needed to say it out loud. 😮‍💨

We’ve been in netball for 25+ years. We’ve coached hundreds of players. We’ve learned from the best S&C coaches in Australia.

And we can tell you with full confidence… General ‘fitness’ doesn’t make you a better netballer.
Netball-specific training does.

This is what netball-specific S&C looks like. And it’s exactly what’s inside the our training app. Strength and Conditioning programs, on-demand workouts and netball-specific skill work, all in one place.

DM or comment APP to get your 7 day free trial. 👇

The day before a game is this grey area where players and coaches aren’t sure what to do. Rest? Full training?

Here’s what the day before should actually look like. 😉

This should absolutely NOT be a hard training day. When we train at higher intensity, we create damage to the muscle fibres (which is actually how we get stronger) but that repair process takes time. Our neuromuscular system also needs a good amount of recovery time to fire at full capacity (this affects how fast you react, how well you land, how quickly you change direction etc.) When we train hard, we add extra stress and inflammation to our body and deplete the glycogen (energy) stores you need on game day.

Full rest ain’t the vibe either. Having a bit of light movement the day before maintains neural activation so your muscles are ready and helps clear any fatigue or soreness from earlier in the week. It also keeps your head in the game. A full rest day can leave you feeling flat, disconnected and sluggish going into game day.

The best option?

Light movement. 🙌 A captain’s run if you’re with your team (a short, low-intensity run-through of your set plays and structures, easy footwork, light ball work, just enough to get the body warm and the mind switched on.) If you’re on your own, same vibe. A short session, putting some shots up, some light skills, a walk. The goal is to arrive tomorrow feeling sharp and ready. If you’re leaving the day-before session tired, you’ve gone too hard.

On the food side, nudge your carbs up in the 24 hours before. Our bodies run on glycogen and we use everything in our liver and muscles first. The fuller your glycogen (energy) tank, the better you’ll play! Think rice, pasta, bread, oats, fruit and veg and keep hydrated. 🍝

And lastly, we want to do some mental prep. Know your role, your matchup, what you want your game to look like. Sort your gear, get everything organised. Reduce your to-do list for tomorrow so that you can just show up and play.

If you want a program that plans this for you, the training days, the prep days, the whole week structured around your game schedule, DM or comment the word LEAP. 😉

This is for every netball player who tapes their ankles every single session and calls it injury prevention.

It’s not. 😤 And here’s why.

Your ankle is your body’s first line of ground control. It’s packed with mechanoreceptors that constantly feed your nervous system information about where your foot is, how you’ve landed and how much correction is needed. That feedback loop is what keeps you upright through every jump, change of direction and landing.

When you restrict that joint with tape every session, you muffle that signal. Research shows tape reduces activation in the peroneus longus which is the muscle responsible for lateral stabilisation. The muscles don’t need to switch on, so they don’t. 😴

So, over time, you’re not building a resilient ankle. You’re building a dependent one.

Also, did you know that the mechanical support from rigid tape drops significantly after just 10-20 minutes of play? By the first quarter, it’s largely gone. What you’re left with is restricted movement and a false sense of security.

Tape also masks pain signals. And pain is information. If you can’t feel the early warning signs, you’ll keep loading a joint that’s telling you to stop.

When we’ve injured before and we just roll. Tape. Play. Repeat... The underlying weakness never gets addressed. Which is why so many players end up with chronically unstable ankles that need tape forever.

And the force still has to go somewhere. Restricted dorsiflexion is directly linked to greater knee valgus (knees caving in) and higher forces on landing… both are massive ACL risk factors.

The tape might stop the ankle rolling. But the force will go SOMEWHERE. So no, you didn’t prevent an injury. You just moved it.

If you’ve been taping for years, don’t just rip it off tomorrow. Your ankles need to be progressively loaded and trained to handle what netball demands of them.

That’s exactly what a dedicated S&C program or ankle rehab program does. It builds the strength, stability and proprioception so your body doesn’t need the external support.

Prehab and prevention is building a joint that DOESN’T need the tape.

That’s what we do. DM

The goaler re-feed can be such a weapon. Here’s 5 things you need to make it work every time. 🔥

Sounds simple but most goalers are missing at least one of these without knowing it. 🫣

1. Look at the ring first
The moment you receive the ball and turn to face the post, your defender has a decision to make. If they think you’re about to shoot, they step back to get their 3. That’s exactly what you want. Make them believe it.

2. Sell the fake
A half-turn to look at the ring moves nobody. The more convincing your shot fake, the more your defender commits: stepping back, going up, shifting their weight. That’s the space you’re about to step into, so we want the fake to sell it.

3. Step back into the space
Once your defender has moved, step into the gap they’ve just created. You’ve just set up this space, so get a closer position before the ball even comes back. The step is the whole point.

4. Know where your mid is before you pass
This one gets missed constantly. If you’re turning to pass and scanning for your wings at the same time, you’re already too slow. Know where they are before you make the decision to re-feed. They need to be in position, ready, and you need to be certain.

5. Be decisive
Everything falls apart if you hesitate. Your defender recovers gets around you. The longer you take between the fake, the step and the pass, the less space you have and the harder the re-feed becomes. Commit to it and go.

Done well, the re-feed isn’t just a pass out and back. Instead, it’s a power play that you’ve engineered from the moment the ball hit your hands.

Make sure you practise it until it’s automatic. 😉