Netball: Loff-ty ambitions

Donna Loffhagen

Donna Loffhagen makes no apologies if you hear her before you actually see her in the national provincial championships.

The question is: will the booming voice of the double New Zealand representative be coming from the sideline or the court?

Loffhagen initially agreed to be Moira Gerken's assistant. But a little wanting in the shooting department has Loffhagen reluctantly changed her position to player/coach.

"If it was my choice I'd be a fill-in player here and there, but we'll just have to wait and see."

The assistant role is Loffhagen's first venture into coaching although she did help manage the Southland under-19 side who won the national championships.

"I am enjoying it," she said. "We have a lot of young girls coming through and I like being able to interact with them. I find it a little difficult with the players I have played with ... that is a bit weird.

"I am quite loud off the sideline, I can't sit there and not say anything."

Loffhagen will use the Scottwood Trust-sponsored championship to prepare for the Australian basketball league, where she has signed with Canberra. She missed out on becoming the first New Zealander to play in the American WNBA when she was cut by Connecticut Suns in May.

"It was probably the first time I have ever been dropped. It was quite devastating. If I had trialled for any other team I may have got through. It wasn't till afterwards that I found out that Connecticut hardly ever change their roster.

"I have since been in contact with some other franchises over there and it will be more whether I want to do it than whether a team will be interested.

"Not many New Zealanders get the opportunity to do what I have done in trialling in the WNBA. A lot of girls think you need to go to the States and play college ball to get any further. I have proved you can do it. But it is hard work."

But she will still head to Australia for three months from November. "I'll just have to see whether or not I give the States another go, whether or not I play netball - or do neither."

When she says netball, she more or less means playing for the Southern Sting. "I still want to be involved in the game in some capacity but whether that is as a player, I don't know."

But would she consider making herself available for next year's world championships?

"To be fair to others and myself, I haven't played a lot of netball," she says. "It is not ideal to go and play for New Zealand and not be at your best. I'd have to play a huge amount of netball to even consider that."


Donna Loffhagen

Southland assistant coach/player
Born: Christchurch April 29, 1978.
Height: 1.85m
Positions: GA, GS
History
1996-2003: Silver Ferns
2000-2006: Tall Ferns
1998-2006: Southern Sting.