Collette Brennan - Netball
Australian Sports Commission
For a decade Berkeley Vale’s Collette Brennan focused her energies on playing NSW State League Netball. She also umpired at lower divisions but as her umpiring skills improved and her elite career stalled, Brennan had a choice to make. “Once I started to get better at umpiring I couldn’t umpire at the division I was in, so I reversed my priorities. I now play a low division and my focus is on umpiring as high as I can.” Brennan says she loves playing and there are advantages to continuing to mix it up on court. “I think I’m a better umpire because I play. I think you get a feeling for the game that makes it easier to understand what’s going to happen, say like an obstruction call.” The 30-year-old has taken up a lot of casual jobs to work around her sport and maintains her off-season fitness by surfboat rowing. The balance between umpiring, work and life is important to Brennan and she cites national A umpire Kate Thornborough as an inspiration. “Kate has five kids and has dealt with lots of things in her life but that hasn’t stopped her from enjoying netball and being a good umpire. I admire that.”
