Life Members

Sally McLean and Annie McCartin

In a double celebration at the end of 2011, longtime stalwarts of the Club, Sally McLean and Annie McCartin, were both awarded life membership.

Sally McLean - (written by Trish Boyle 2011)

Tonight I have the honor, on behalf of Brown Hill Netball Club, to acknowledge the work and commitment of one of our esteemed club members, Sally McLean. I have known Sally for many years since before either of us had moved to Ballarat or become involved with Brown Hill Netball Club – when Sally was playing for Donald (aka Sunshine City) and I for their arch rival St. Arnaud (aka Headsville) in the North Central League. Sally had moved to Donald with her new husband Ray after completing university in Ballarat (where I believe she had already left her mark on the BNA playing for a Uni Team) and quickly established herself as a committed, dedicated and skillful player in that League. Sally was duly selected in the North Central League Representative Team, which was victorious in the 1981 Country Netball Week A Res Division – which was considered a great achievement back then when Country Week was a strong and hotly-contested competition played by all the State’s best country netballers.

I was in the North Central’s junior/Reserve Rep. team at the time and clearly recall the good times we had on those weekends and others leading up to them – as I recall Sally certainly earned the respect of all in our League as someone who played hard on and off the court, and both Sally & I have many good memories and life long friends from those days.

I had been in Ballarat and with Brown Hill Netball Club for a few years when my sister, Deanne rang to say that Sally & Ray McLean were moving to Ballarat from Adelaide where Ray had been based with AFDA, and that I should give Sally a call to see if she might like a game of netball. Always keen to get a player of Sally’s caliber on board I did so straight away and thankfully so, as Sally has since told me I was just in the nick of time, as someone else phoned the next day also chasing her to play with them.

And so began Sally’s long and illustrious association with Brown Hill Netball Club.

Unfortunately after a couple of years, including a 1995 Premiership with the A Grade Team, Sally’s playing career was bought to an abrupt end with an knee injury that resulted in her second knee reconstruction. Although she has continued to play on occasions since then (most recently filling in for us only a couple of weeks ago), Sally has since turned her focus to coaching and whilst many will remember her tenacious strong play on the court, Sally has certainly put her stamp on our club and the Ballarat and surrounding communities as a successful and unforgettable coach and leader off the court.

Few could questions Sally’s love and passion for the game of netball and it is obvious to all the dedication and team spirit she evokes from any team she coaches and any club she is involved with. As a player, fellow coach and club person, and even as a Mum when Molly has played in one of her teams, I have over many years admired Sally’s enthusiastic, dedicated and knowledgeable coaching style, and believe that her honest and fair approach is a large part of the successful formula. As an opposition coach I have often envied her level of commitment and along with so many other coaches have total respect for her ability and ‘never give in’ attitude. Another skill that I often marvel at is how Sal can chat away on the sideline to me or anybody really that happens to be sitting close by, then address her team in the quarter/half time break and know exactly what has happened on the court and what needs to be done in the next quarter. I know she’s a female and a Mum, but still……..

This great attitude has been evident over the many years that Sally has coached both junior and senior teams within our club and particularly over the past 10 years as our main Premier League coach. During those 10 years Sally and her team have consistently reached the grand final – winning a premiership in the pre-season comp. of 2007 and coming very close on a number of other occasions.

In addition to her efforts in coaching Sally has also been a committed and active member of our club in many other ways, always offering her time and assistance in any way possible. In her time here, our club has grown and evolved a great deal and we have dealt with lots of interesting times and situations over the years, as well as many fun ones. They say that sport doesn’t build character, it reveals it and Sally has always stood up and shown a strong, fair and honest character that is second to none, and I strongly believe is largely responsible for making our club what it is today. Not only has her presence attracted many players to our club, but her loyalty and spirit has resulted in many friendships made with those who have had the pleasure of knowing Sal. So with much admiration, many thanks and a whole lot of fabulous memories, I would like to award you Sally McLean with a Life Membership with Brown Hill Netball Club and hope that you know how much we appreciate all that you have done over the years.  And here’s to many more!

Congratulations Sal - With love and gratitude from Trish Boyle and all your friends at Brown Hill Netball Club.

more -->

Raylene Reese

Raylene was awarded life membership at the end of 2009. Currently the longest serving member of the club, Raylene's association with Brown Hill started in 1969 as a junior.Throughout her long association with the club Raylene has taken on various roles - player, coach, administrator, umpire. Throughout her playing career, it is estimated Raylene has played in excess of 880 games.
more -->

Trish Boyle

Trish Boyle
Trish's commitment to the Brown Hill Netball Club was recognised at the club's 50th Birthday Celebration in 2004. Trish was awarded a Life Membership of the club in recognition of her tireless work as a player, coach, umpire, organiser, recruiting officer and friend to all at the club more -->

Sue Purves

Sue has the honour of being the first Life Member of the Brown Hill Netball Club. Bestowed upon her in 2000, Sue's Life Membership recognised her outstanding contribution to the club, and in particular her work with the junior players, over many years. more -->

Sell Tickets.

Run your Event.

Sell tickets, QR Code + add to wallet functionality, track attendance, receive weekly settlements - all with GameDay Events & Ticketing!

A laptop and smart phone displaying the GameDay Events app.