Netball isn't a sport that lends itself to social distancing.

So when the pandemic began and lockdown was first imposed, no one would have blamed Penarth Allstars Junior Netball Club for shutting up shop and waiting for everything to blow over.

But Head Coach Lisa Birchall and Assistant Head Coach Gary Fish remember the year that has just past as the best in the history of the club.

There's been netball drills and new recruits, dance-offs, silly hats and trips to Barry Island. The group has sung carols and even rallied to restore a dilapidated court - all while strictly maintaining social distancing.

"The best thing has been seeing the girls' smiling faces," Gary tells Nub News. "The big thrust that we found was that it improved people's mental health and wellbeing."

This is the story of a surprisingly good year for Penarth Allstars.

Back from Lockdown

When the first lockdown began in March, no amount of get-up-and-go could have seen the club hold any gatherings at all - social distancing guidelines made all club activity impossible.

But when restrictions began to relax in June and July, the club took to Plymouth Park in the Marina to hold socially distanced drills and group exercise sessions.

"Lisa and I had many conversations and we were very thorough in the way we went about organising the sessions for the girls," says Gary.

"We weren't allowed to use netballs, so we had to use our imagination and initiative to create activities and exercises that brought small groups of girls together."

Back on the court

As restrictions began to relax further and larger groups of people were allowed, Lisa and Gary began to look at way to get the girls back on the court.

"We were extremely grateful for Westbourne School letting us use their outdoor facility," says Gary.

"At some stage during this period. We were able to utilise balls in small groups. We could never actually play netball games, but just doing ball-based drills made a huge difference.

"There was a lot of sanitising going on, and social distancing both on arrival and throughout the whole session."

As word got out about the sessions they were holding, new recruits began to join. Nub News asks Gary why the sessions were so popular even when no matches were played.

"It was a fun-filled atmosphere," he says. "We put the ghetto blasters on and did socially distanced freestyle dancing followed by some quite intense fitness sessions.

"All the hard work to get things ready went on behind the scenes. I don't think the girls realise how much preparation went into it, because as soon as the sessions started it was just so much fun.

"When people had been locked up for so long, not seeing their friends, to go out and have some socially distanced fun did them the world of good.

"We noticed people smiling and that made us smile."

Community spirit

Keen to get back shooting some hoops, Lisa enquired into the availability of the old outdoor tennis and basketball courts at Penarth Leisure Centre.

Dilapidated, scattered with broken bottle fragments, and overgrown by shrubbery, the area had been earmarked for a new health centre.

"But girls sports is so under funded and after much arguments and twisting of arms the Council agreed to let us work as a community to clear the space to use whilst we're in need of somewhere," says Lisa.

"We're not allowed to do anything to them - i.e get a grant to update the fencing - but internally we could do want we wanted. 

"There was so much glass we removed 12 rubble bags of glass. Trees had grown through the fences, shrubs, empty bottles - it was just an absolute mess. We ended up actually hoovering the courts to try get rid of glass fragments. 

"We had been quoted £1200 for painting the lines, so my husband did them for us."

The clean up project enrolled parents and the girls themselves. It brought the community together while providing a physical outdoor space for the girls to train in.

Smiles

The impact of Lisa and Gary's hard work has had on the community is difficult to quantify.

With mental health issues in young people rising significantly throughout the pandemic, the opportunity to get outside and play with friends in a totally safe environment was taken up by many.

"Seeing the girls' smiling faces has been very humbling and rewarding for myself and Lisa.

"We're there week in week out determined to put a smile on people's faces. And I'm smiling thinking about that now. It's a wonderful club that I've become a part of over the past two and a half years."

Jennifer Jones, a mother to a girl playing in the U15s, gives some insight into the difference the club has made to the girls throughout this difficult year:

"It's been an absolute lifesaver. It came at such a good time for mental and physical health and self-esteem. They've been so committed and I really can't believe how much support they've offered the girls.

"Because all the girls were doing so much remote learning, it really couldn't have come at a better time. My daughter's mood lifted - I mean she's great anyway - but being out in the fresh air became something to look forward to. We were so grateful as a family."

Renewed restrictions have once again put a spanner in the works, but Lisa says the 2020 spirit of the club lives on.

"Sadly lockdown has hit us, but we will again come back fighting fitter and better than before."