FORMER Doveton resident Leanne Vernon has teamed with fellow netball expert Gillian Lee to write a book to inspire young people to get reading about and playing sport.
Ms Vernon said declining literacy levels and a growing obesity epidemic made the book particularly topical.
Netball Dreamz tells the story of Sally and Nat, who are desperate to play netball.
But sport is totally banned at Sally's place and Nat comes from a basketball family.
When Nat is given a netball training manual, the girls plan to teach themselves how to play and to make the grade 6 netball team.
Ms Vernon, a former student of St John's Regional College in Dandenong, says it is a story about overcoming obstacles, forging friendships, and negotiating the perils of the playground.
She said parents often found it difficult to get their children to read or play sport.
"The book is designed to make kids more inclined to read, while teaching the importance and benefits of teamwork and achieving dreams."
The authors are hoping children aged 8-13 will enjoy the story while also learning the skills of netball.
The book has already been given the thumbs-up by two prominent figures in world netball: the coaches of the Australian and New Zealand netball teams, Norma Plummer and Ruth Aiken.
Email a friend