Netball: Only perfection will do for Aitken

By RICHARD BOOCK

By the sounds of things, a decent build-up to next year's world championships will not be nearly good enough for Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken. She wants it to be perfect.

Having held the reins for the best part of a year, during which she watched her side lose to Jamaica and then get pipped by Australia in a double-overtime thriller at the Commonwealth Games, Aitken has no doubt where the winning of next year's world title lies.

"It's about having an absolutely flawless preparation," she said yesterday from the Manawatu Netball Stadium in Palmerston North, where the national championships are being contested.

"From our point of view, that's paramount now. No longer is it adequate to prepare for a 60-minute game like we had been doing, because, as we discovered at Manchester, there's a strong chance we may be out there much longer."

Aitken's goals over the next 10 months are straightforward enough: to beat South Africa in the two tests in November, to oversee a crucial off-season build-up during the summer, and then to steer her side towards glory in July.

The world championship campaign might sound some way off, but as far as the Ferns boss is concerned, the groundwork will start tomorrow night when she names an 18-strong training squad.

That in itself will be an interesting exercise, considering New Zealand have lost four usual starters - Bernice Mene, Linda Vagana, Belinda Charteris and Donna Loffhagen - in the past year, not to mention fringe goal-attack/shoot Tania Dalton.

Aitken said although losing those players had been difficult, she was heartened by the depth of talent at Palmerston North and was confident about their replacements.

"I don't think it's healthy for us to be looking around, as an example, for the next Bernice Mene, because there almost certainly isn't another one, and it can make you blind to the different strengths of other players.

"You only have to look at that Games final against Australia, when Vilimaina Davu and Sheryl Clarke really stepped up to the mark, to see what an opportunity can do for players."

In terms of the looming commitments against South Africa and at the world championships, Aitken said she was encouraged by the tightness of the provincial competition this week.

"It's a great help to be able to watch players in high-pressure and tight situations, where they have to deal with the mind-games, the close competition, and the umpires' calls.

"If anything, that's where I think Australia's made a mark in recent years. I reckon our players are more skilful but the Aussies possibly benefit from a better build-up."

Aitken, who says she's loving every minute of her new coaching role "warts and all", will bring her training squad together on October 28, in preparation for the tests against South Africa and the world championship campaign.

"That will be the launching pad for the entire campaign, so I want to get the players together, go over the details of what we need to do and how we need to prepare, particularly in regard to the summer months.

"To get where we want to go, we can't afford to leave any stone unturned in our preparation, and to me that means we have to be organised, start early, and be happy to go that extra mile."