Tango netball coach Scott Waddington helps club end win drought against Matrics – 12 months after his cancer diagnosis
Netball coach Scott Waddington was diagnosed with bowel cancer on May 26 last year. On May 24 this month, he helped his side end a decade-long losing streak against a competition powerhouse.
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Almost 12 months to the day since his bowel cancer diagnosis, veteran netball mentor Scott Waddington is not only back on the sidelines full-time but coming off one of the most satisfying victories of his 15-year coaching career.
Waddington’s world turned upside-down on May 26 last year when a doctor told him he’d had a tumour in his bowel since 2015 and he would require surgery and six months of chemotherapy.
While undergoing his cancer treatment, the 56-year-old self-employed bricklayer coached only seven of 14 games last season – all losses – and handed over many responsibilities to his assistant coaches.
But subsequent blood tests and a check-up in January that showed “everything was heading in the right direction”, including no sign of cancer or the tumour, helped him decide to “keep doing what I loved most” – coaching.
On Friday night, May 24, Waddington steered Tango to what he believed was the club’s first win over Matrics since the mid-2000s and his sole triumph as coach against the Premier League powerhouse – a 46-39 victory.
“My family was aware of that (Friday’s win being nearly 12 months since the diagnosis),” Waddington says.
“At times it feels like it’s been forever and other times it feels like I’ve achieved so much in the past 12 months.
“I’m still doing my testing every couple of months but so far the surgery and chemo that followed is doing its job, which is the most important thing.
“I’ve never beaten Matrics and it’s an amazing feeling.
“That first half was the best half of netball I’ve ever seen a Tango team play – everything just connected.”
Waddington’s diagnosis has changed his outlook on life.
The grandfather of nine – it will be 10 next month – tries to dedicate even more time to his family, go for regular 3km morning walks with his wife, work 30 hours a week and make every day count.
Side-effects remain from the chemotherapy, such as pins and needles, losing touch with his tongue, and feeling the cold and heat much more than before the diagnosis, but they are “minute compared to what the other outcome might have been”.
“Until you’re faced with being told you could potentially die in a short amount of time, it just changes your life in so many ways,” he says.
“I’m just hellbent on making sure that everything I do now, I’m getting something out of it that makes me feel good, rather than puts added stress and makes me feel terrible.”
That commitment to not wasting time or energy was a major reason why Waddington was desperate to enjoy coaching this year.
Four players have left since the end of last season, which he believes may be due to the disruptive nature of the 2018 campaign, but those who remain are “buying in”.
He reckons his 2019 squad – whose oldest player is 26 and youngest is just 16 – is as coachable as any he can remember.
“I’m really excited about this year and I’m not putting a ceiling on what we can do,” he says.
“I’m very thankful that the club has shown faith in me because they quite easily could’ve moved me on.”
Waddington has also sought to reconnect the club with its past, inviting Tango’s last premiership team, from 1998, to a pre-season dinner to mingle with its current squad.
“They spoke to the group about what it meant to them back then and what it means to them now,” he says.
“If I had a crystal ball, I’d love to say we’re going to win a premiership but the reality is it was just lovely to hear their stories.”
Waddington only signs one-year deals at Tango and is not looking beyond this season.
There is still plenty on his plate – a colonoscopy in the next few weeks and every six months after that, along with blood tests every two months – and he still worries about results of those check-ups.
But he knows that like umpiring decisions and injuries in netball, they are out of his control.
“I don’t know when my last game is going to be … so that helps because I’m very motivated in my role to make sure everything I do is quality,” says Waddington, who will coach his 200th state league game on Friday night.
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