WHEN the netball gets under way at the Commonwealth Games in New Delhi this year, there will be a strong local connection to the behind-the-scenes action.Former Bendigo player Shelley Haynes has been selected by the International Federation of Netball Associations to work as a statistician throughout the tournament.The 48-year-old will be responsible for keeping track of goaling accuracy, player infringements, interchange moves and other information, and helping provide a live feed of the match data to the world media.India is a long way from the Bendigo courts where Shelley played her first game of netball as a six-year-old for the Falcons club.But she is no stranger to sporting statistics, having supervised the netball data collection and distribution during the Melbourne Commonwealth Games in 2006.“We had the best seats in the house,” she said of that experience.“You are courtside, doing a job you love and the atmosphere was great in Melbourne so I absolutely loved it. It was just a shame Australia lost to New Zealand in the final.”She is looking forward to the thrill of again being part of an international sporting extravaganza, this time on foreign soil.Despite concerns raised about security at the Games amid terrorism fears and reports of racist attacks on Indian students in Australia straining relations between the nations, Shelley is undeterred.“That is at the back of your mind, but I am sure our safety is going to be assured,” she said.“You hope that you will go over there and there will be no issues, but sporting events are opportunities for terrorist attacks.“I went to Bali a few months after the Bali bombings - you think it could happen to me, or it might not, but should that stop me from doing what I want to do? I don’t think so.“You have to make those choices, but I am just excited to be going. It’s a great opportunity to experience different cultures and, as I said, it is the best seat in the house.”The mother of three has had a long and successful career in the sport of netball, as a player, coach and administrator, as well as her newer role as stats guru.As Bendigo teenager Shelley Endersby, she first represented Victoria as a goal shooter in an under-16 schoolgirls side in 1976.She moved to Melbourne after finishing high school and began playing State League netball with Lower Plenty.It took a decade of perseverance and hard work before she was back in a Big V uniform, but she eventually managed to break her way into the state’s senior open team in 1986.After playing at national carnivals two years in a row, Shelley had a break from netball for the birth of daughters Kelly and Emma.She made the state squad again in 1991 and was given the perfect consolation prize by Norma Plummer (now coach of the Australian Diamonds) when she was overlooked for the final team of 10.“As soon as I missed out she came over to me and said, 'Shelley I know you are disappointed, but let me offer you the assistant coach’s position'.“I was honoured that she asked me and I travelled with the team, did all the training with them, and went to Brisbane that year as assistant,” Shelley said.The role gave her a good grounding in netball statistics, as Plummer relied heavily on them as a coach.Shelley later played for Peninsula in the top division of State League after moving to the Mornington Peninsula and having a third child, Nicholas.She retired from top-level competition in 2004 at the age of 43.But she still plays domestic A-grade netball in Frankston, and coaches the Wavettes, a development side aligned with Victorian Netball League club Peninsula Waves.She is also a Peninsula Waves club administrator and business manager of the Frankston District Netball Association.Shelley flies to New Delhi on October 1 and is one of 16 Australians appointed as technical officials for the netball competition at the 19th Commonwealth Games.“We get our airfares paid, accommodation, meal allowance, uniforms, all we have to bring is spending money,” she said.“And netball statistics is something that just comes naturally - it’s not even like work.“You just think, wow, how could I knock that back.”