Netball Champions

The Foundation of Goodness Sports Academy introduced its netball programme in mid-2009 and ever since, it has grown to be one of the most popular sports for female players, giving them an avenue along which to develop their skills and climb the ladder to regional, national and international recognition.

The ladies of Seenigama and the surrounding regions have seized this opportunity and really made the most of it, and have proven to be among the high performing programmes at the Sports Academy, with girls being chosen for the National Development Squad, the National Squad for International Tours, and winning tournaments and championships as a team every year.

When the Netball Seenigama Team entered the Southern District Netball Tournament, they were motivated and energized to go all the way, and take home the championship trophy. The girls were determined to never settle for second best, and their hard work paid off when they flew through the tournament without a single loss.

They faced off against Moneragala District in the Quarter Finals and breezed through to the Semi Final against Matara District where they once again emerged winners and went on to play the final against the Galle District team.

Proving that nothing could get between them and the goal they had set their mind to, the girls beat the Galle team 18 – 10 and were presented with the Southern District Netball champions’ trophy.

Proving that they were a winning team both on and off the field, the girls blew us all away when they requested for the opportunity to visit the North to play friendly tournaments with netball players there and conduct coaching camps for them, as a reward for their achievement. This incredible sense of community spirit together with the spirit of reconciliation that was displayed by the girls who wanted to reach out and build friendships with their countrymen from the north who they had been separated from due to 30 years of conflict is the true achievement of the Foundation of Goodness. They are not just an asset to their sport, but also to the community and their country in more ways than one.

The winning team was boosted by such talent as Rashmi Sudari and Harsha Priyadharshani who represented Sri Lanka in Australia last year as part of the National U19 Squad. Following in these footsteps, their teammates Supuni Dilhara and Achini Madushika have also been selected for the U19 National Squad this year. Supuni has just returned from her tour in Malaysia and Achini will go on tour in September.

A notable strength of the Netball Seenigama team is the shared experience the girls get from their senior members. Advanced and more experienced players like Harsha, Rashmi, Supuni and Achini all conduct peer coaching sessions for the netball team. This peer coaching model was introduced at the FoG Sports Academy as per the advice of Laureus Sports For Good Foundation who sponsor the Academy. This allows all the girls in the squad to benefit from the knowledge and experience gained by the girls who have played at national and international levels, allowing the whole team to grow stronger.

We congratulate all our netball players and wish them all the very best in future tournaments.

12th May 2015