• Cory Nicholls.

Aiming for goals in netball umpiring.

I love my sport: Cory Nicholls.

Cory Nicholls is currently an NZA netball umpire and member of the National Umpire Squad. He lives on the North Shore and spends most of his netball life at Netball North Harbour. The eldest of three children, with two younger sisters, when he's not running along a netball court Cory works as a podiatrist for Core Clinic. Channel Magazine’s Nikki Davidson was keen to find out more about how Cory got into netball umpiring.

Nikki Davidson: What drew you to netball umpiring initially?
Cory Nicholls:  Initially I was dragged along, willingly I might add, to play in my mother’s social netball team one evening. From there a netball coach at school spotted me and asked me to join the top Year 8 netball team at the time. The following year I wasn’t allowed to play for school as per regulations, but still wanted to be involved in the sport. I was encouraged to attend a First Steps to Umpiring class and the rest is history.

ND: How long have you been involved in it?
CN: 
I have been umpiring since I was 15, so a little over seven years now.

ND: Do you have a role model?
CN: I was very fortunate coming through the ranks in both a community and high-performance environment to have two umpires with International Umpires Awards at Netball North Harbour: Yvonne Morgan and Fay Meiklejohn. I used to admire their skill sets on court and being able to learn from their experience is something that was very rewarding for me. It also gave me the hunger to want to achieve what they both achieved and attend pinnacle netball events on the international stage. Not only were their skill sets phenomenal but their personalities and willingness to be approachable for someone like me to ask questions and pick their brains is one I will be grateful for. To this day we are also good friends as well.

ND: How do you keep fit?
CN: My fitness regime involves two to three gym sessions per week, quite important given I’ve had four shoulder dislocations. We have an adorable 'staffie', Max, back home in our flat who is responsible for making sure my cardio gets done throughout the week. Or I might do a sprint session at the netball court. During the season there’s usually a club match and a training match to attend. Then it’s match day. So, there is not a lot else except netball in the season.

ND: What are the benefits for someone looking to start umpiring?
CN: Umpiring helps to give you a completely different perspective on the game as you grasp the rules and understand what players can and can’t do. But, above all else it’s enjoyable. Well, it should be if you’re doing it for the right reasons. Some netball centres will even pay you for it.

ND: Can you describe the feeling you get when you master a new skill or attain a new level?
CN: 
For me, I guess it’s a feeling of gratification and fulfilment. I’m quite a proud person as well and I think it's important to be able to celebrate attaining a new skill or level. A lot of hard work goes into what we do on the court so when a new level is reached it’s very rewarding.

ND: Who would your ideal umpire recruit be?
CN: Somebody who is self-motivated and can be vulnerable to better their development. The saying “you can lead a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink” comes to mind. Raw talent will only get an umpire so far before hard work needs to happen.

ND: What other sport would like to be involved with?S
CN: I wouldn’t mind giving rugby referreeing a go. Although mud and rain throughout winter doesn’t sound too enthralling.

ND: In five years time I hope to…
CN:
It’s pretty cliché… but be of an elite group of umpires and obtain my international umpires award (IUA). Ultimately that’s probably what a good umpire’s goal is: reaching the top ranks in the umpiring world. There’s a lot of hard work to do between now and then and a lot of learning and growth that needs to happen in my umpiring career. And hey, if it doesn’t happen in the next five years then in the future for sure, I just have to focus on my skill set and continue working towards it.


Issue 101 August 2019