Fallout feared after Northland women's coach gets ousted

Northland Hockey's decision to replace incumbent women's NHL coach Donna Edlington with under-18 coach Angeline Waetford has stunned many - none more than the new coach herself.
Waetford admitted being surprised by the appointment but said on Friday she was grateful for the chance.
The Whangarei accountant said her emotions had ranged from excited to apprehensive and she was looking forward to the Christmas break to get used to the idea.
"I wasn't really that confident, I guess, I thought I'd have to be better than Donna and I was thinking ... where am I better than her?"
Waetford believed Edlington had done a very good job with the side particularly in 2004 and would be a hard act to follow.
"(But) I felt the time was right for me to have a crack, it's always been my goal from the time I started coaching Northland age group teams," she said.
She had steeled herself to be rebuked for the job and had that happened would have viewed it as a learning experience and probably have tried again at a later date.
Edlington's reaction at the decision was one of disbelief.
"I'm bitterly disappointed ... we had a couple of disappointing results in our finals weekend but overall we learned a lot, played exciting hockey and were still the talk of the NHL ... and then to be overlooked - I can't really understand it," she said.
Her application this year had also been strengthened by the added weight of the experienced Alan Lynch as her assistant coach.
Edlington had yet to receive an explanation for the decision but would be looking forward to reading why her application had failed.
"They wouldn't give me any reasons over the phone when they told me about it and I'm waiting to get something in the mail."
She felt there was some unfinished business to attend to next season.
"It's a shame I can't take the girls further because I thought there were a couple that could have pushed for higher honours next year," she said.
Northland's last-gasp 2-1 victory over North Harbour and their 1-1 draw against eventual champions Wellington were the highlights of the season but the team finished in seventh place and that may have been a factor in the selection panel's decision.
Another reason may have been Waetford's Hockey New Zealand level one and two coaching qualifications.
Although Edlington doesn't have the same qualifications, she is certainly well regarded by New Zealand hockey and recently turned down an offer by Hockey New Zealand to join a group of coaches working with the national under-18 side.
Northland Hockey chief executive Grant McLeod, who was a member of the selection panel, said the three-member panel decided Waetford was the the best candidate for the position at this point in time.
"Donna's been a good servant to Northland hockey for a long time and the decision to go in Angeline's favour was not made lightly by the selection panel," he said.
"Angeline has had significant success through the age-group teams, she's coached for the past four years and won three national tournaments.
"The job will be a step up from that level, it's not the be-all and end-all of the selection but it was a part of it."
Waetford coached the Northland under-14s, under-15s for two years and then last year the under-18s as well as the Whangarei Girls' High School team in the Northland premier competition.
The new coach agrees the job will be a big step up from the age group teams.
"I've been coaching age-group girls so I'm kind of looking forward to working with a different age-group. Mind you a lot of the age group girls I've worked with are in the Northland team anyway," she said.
There's no doubt that Waetford will be familiar with most of the Northland players, especially the province's young stars, including her daughter Alana Millington, and that may have been another contributing factor in her getting the coaching job.
Waetford said she would be surprised if there wasn't some fallout over her appointment.
"Whangarei is a small place and hockey here can be quite political.
"It happened when Donna took over from Vicky Gribble two years ago, it was the same sort of scenario ... people are human but hopefully with time and if I do a good job it'll go away," she said.
The early announcement of the appointment could mean that any fallout will be limited by the time the season is under way.
Meanwhile, there were two other appointments made by the panel. Mark Neal will coach the under-18 men's team while Graeme Cotton is the new under-18 women's coach.
McLeod said he was disappointed no nominations were received for the position of men's coach.
The under-13 and under-15 coaches for both genders were also not filled and all positions will be re-advertised with a closing date for applications of early February.