WA coach spreading the love

By Matt Fotia 

Bev Gallagher has had a lifetime in netball. 

Since first lacing up her netburners at the age of 10, Gallagher has been part of the netball ecosystem. 

Her playing career was littered with representative honours, notably at the state level for Western Australia, along with more than a decade’s worth of playing experience at state league level, competing in the WANL. 

A highly credentialed coach, Gallagher has marshalled association representative sides, has mentored at the state league level and since 2018 she’s been a key member of the WA Marie Little Shield side’s (the Western Swans) coaching staff. 

Her incredible CV continues. 

Gallagher is also the Assocation Development Officer at the Southern District Netball Assocation (SDNA), where she pioneered the association’s all-abilities side, the Red Devils, in 2016 amongst her other, endless, duties. 

So, where does this undying motivation come from?  

“My passion is about seeing people enjoy netball and love it the way I do,” Gallagher said. 

“I just have a passion for it through my involvement as a child at Southern Districts and seeing these people play and the excitement that it gives them.” 

Love might not be strong enough a word to describe Bev’s relationship to netball. 

When Gallagher first started playing netball in her local association, there was a thriving all-abilities competition, which sadly lost momentum.  

“(When) I first started playing at our association there were two grades of people with disabilities playing, but unfortunately the lady who was running the program retired and it fell by the wayside,” Gallagher explained. 

Years later, through her work with the SDNA, Gallagher came across No Limits, Netball WA's all-abilities program for individuals aged 12 and over with an intellectual disability, and her interest was immediately piqued. 

“I was with my association representative teams preparing to play in the state championships one year when Netball WA was just starting the No Limits division,” Gallagher recalled. 

“There were a few teams, but most were north of the river. I went and said (to her association) ‘we need to do this’. 

“We needed something for the people in our area. 

“Thankfully, I had people who supported me, and are still supporting me, and we got a team together that year and it’s grown organically from there. 

“People have seen it via social media, we’ve had some word of mouth and local schools started getting behind us as well.” 

SDNA’s side, the Red Devils was finally launched by Gallagher in 2016, and they first competed in the 2017 edition of the No Limits Cup.  

Since then, the program has gone from strength to strength, with a new indoor centre on the cards and weekly netball for the Devils at their home association.  

“When I started Red Devils ten years ago it was with the goal of having a competition at our association again,” Gallagher said. 

“We run a competition from NetSetGo all the way through to open age netball and our Red Devils side plays in our spring competition against teams who have the bye. 

“It’s been well received and well supported by people in our association, which is amazing.” 

This bye week fixture isn’t a charity case by any means. The Red Devils always come to play. 

“Our team is competitive as well,” Gallagher stated. 

“It’s not about winning, but they like to have competition and not just be in training all the time. 

“Competition against new teams is exciting for them, and they deserve that.” 

It’s been almost a decade since Gallagher set up the Red Devils, and seven years since she first joined the Western Swans Marie Little Shield program.  

She says the biggest change has been the way all-abilities netball is viewed by those outside the inner circle. 

“It’s treated like a normal netball team now,” Gallagher said. 

“The players love to learn new skills, so skills sessions are important, but competition is just as important and we have a lot of No Limits Carnivals over here (in WA), around six or seven a year which is exciting.” 

Regular competition has no doubt been a factor in the Swans consistent performances at the Marie Little Shield, with the Swans finishing fourth at each of the past three tournaments.  

While the team is eager to go one step further in 2025, the off-court relationships are still the number one focus for the Swans. 

“We’re learning and getting better every year,” Gallagher explained. 

“When we first started it took the whole program’s training block to learn one skill, but now we’re learning more and more each year. 

“They’re very competitive and love to win, but the Marie Little Shield competition is amazing for friendships, support and inclusion. 

“There’s nothing better than seeing them out on the court with their smiles, enjoying the game and the social element as well.”