Netball: Aussie polish for the lacklustre Diamonds

By JULIE ASH

With a passion for sailing, there are worse places in the world new Diamonds coach Sue Hawkins could live.

Hawkins was this week named head coach of the Diamonds for the next two National Bank Cup seasons, and will move to Auckland in October.

The former Australian goal attack, who replaces Joan Hodson, has a wealth of coaching experience.

She has coached the Queensland Firebirds in the Commonwealth Bank trophy for the past four years, had several stints with the Australian B side and was at the Australian Institute of sport for 14 years where she was employed as a specialist shooting coach.

Hawkins applied for the top Australian job when Jill McIntosh retired after last year's world championships, but missed out to Norma Plummer.

Incidentally it was McIntosh who alerted Hawkins to the Diamonds job. The Diamonds board had approached McIntosh but she declined as she had already committed herself to work in Barbados.

The challenge of coaching an overseas team appealed, so she applied for the position and the rest is history.

Hawkins said she knew a little bit about the Diamonds - a side who have only managed to scrape into the top four once since the franchise competition began in 1998.

She is familiar with the other "Aussie" in the team, Kathryn Harby-Williams, who she played against in the early 1990s, and has met Silver Fern captain Anna Rowberry.

"I know I have young players, talented players, and they certainly have had a good grounding with Joan Hodson.

"I look forward to blending my ideas with some of the girls' ideas ... and making sure they learn to perform to their top ability."

Hawkins played most of her netball in Melbourne. An extremely tactical goal attack, she debuted for the Australian team in 1981 when she was a regular through to 1986.

The highlight of her international career? Beating New Zealand in the final of the World Champs in 1983, a team which included Force and North coach Yvonne Willering.

Immediately after her international career ended she turned to coaching.

"I got the position at the AIS [Australian Institute of Sport] in 1986. I was a phys-ed teacher down in Victoria and being a shooter/ goal attack for Australia ... that is an area they wanted a specialist in.

"At that stage there were only three professional coaches based in Australia and they were all at the institute, so it was a great opportunity.

"I stayed there 14 years. It is an amazing place to work."

While her long-term goal is to coach an international team, her immediate focus is on the Diamonds

She is in Palmerston North this week eyeing talent at the Smokefree championships.

She will name a squad next month and promises she will not introduce the "one-handed biff" into the Diamonds' game - something Australians are famous for.

"I'll bring in a three-handed one," she laughs. "You have to create something new to keep everyone guessing."


Sue Hawkins


Born: Brisbane

Career History

2000-04: Queensland Firebirds

1986-1999: Australian Institute of Sport coach

1981-1986: Australian team