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The start of a new sporting season is always something of a new beginning for most elite sports people – a chance to set goals and focus on how to improve on last year and make the most of their game.
But with the netball season fast approaching, there’s a feel amongst New Zealand’s top netballers and coaches that this year is special. And it is. 2008 marks the beginning of the professional era for netballers across Australia and New Zealand, with the launch of the ANZ Championships, a semi-professional trans-Tasman netball league.
The move to the new professional format has been welcomed by netballers and coaches on both sides of the Tasman, and has seen the end of New Zealand’s long-running national competition, the National Bank Cup.
Here, we talk to the coaches of the five Kiwi franchises – LG Northern Mystics, Waikato/BOP Magic, Suzuki Central Pulse, SKOPE Canterbury Tactix, and Southern Steel. We asked them for their views on the new league, how things have changed from their involvement in the National Bank Cup, and the impact they predict the new league will have on New Zealand netball.
Yvonne Willering – LG Northern Mystics
NoelineTaurua – Waikato/BOP Magic
Kate Carpenter – Suzuki Central Pulse
Helen Mahon–Stroud - Skope Canterbury Tactix
Robyn Broughton, Southern Steel
Yvonne Willering – LG Northern Mystics
Another famous face for New Zealand netball, Yvonne Willering has been coaching elite netball in New Zealand for many years, most recent in the National Bank Cup, and as coach of the Silver Ferns from 1997 to 2001. Now coaching the Northern Mystics into their first season of the ANZ Championships, Yvonne’s not letting anything slip in the lead-up to their first game.
“As a coach, you should be improving all the time. I want to focus on my own team this season, not the competition. It’s important that I spend the time getting to know all the players in my team, since we are an amalgamated team. I intend to use all the players I have available – it’s easy to be tempted into using your main players, but by spreading the workload and talent around, you can keep the competition on their toes,” Yvonne says.
As for her thoughts on how the new league is different from our old National Bank Cup, Yvonne is focused on being practical. “It’s different, simple as that. When you look at everything from the fact that the team is an amalgamated group, to the fact that we’ll be playing Australians, as well as New Zealanders, we’ve been given a chance to step the whole game up a level and really refine our skills.”
“In terms of talent development here in New Zealand, I think that this new league gives our best and brightest a chance to refine their skills at a higher level before moving on to the Silver Ferns, but I also think that it’s equally important to ensure that we have a classy regional competition here at home that will bring along the next batch of players. It’s important that we add more value to the provincial championships here to ensure the right flow of talent upstream.”
