Netball: Time to give something back

By JULIE ASH

Sunday could be the last time Linda Vagana dons the Force colours, but her name will not disappear entirely from netball circles just yet.

Vagana, 32, has announced her playing days are over come the end of the National Bank Cup. That could be this weekend if the Force lose to the Magic.

But Vagana is not hanging up her netball outfit. Instead, she is ready to put something back into the sport that gave her so much.

Vagana will hold two coaching clinics in Fiji in September and is currently in talks with Samoa netball about the possibility of coaching the Samoan under-21 side in next year's world youth cup in Florida.

"The whole idea of me taking the team would be to develop netball in Samoa," she said.

"With the next world cup being in Fiji ... there is not a lot for players after they finish high school, so if you start developing players at under-21 level you can kind of have some continuity for the world champs."

Vagana quit international netball in 2002 but came out of retirement to play for Samoa in last year's world championships, where the side finished a creditable sixth.

"The reason I played was because I wanted to give something back to the sport at home," she said.

"It has been a natural progression to follow on to coaching the under-21 side and starting at that level, as opposed to being chucked the big role of taking the world champs team.

"It would be nice to go on to that, but it is too early just yet."

Although she believes there is plenty of talent in Samoa, Vagana would be keen to see the return of a Pasifika team - encompassing a number of Pacific Island teams - to play internationals against the likes of the Silver Ferns and Australia.

"It is a concept that has been used before. If you can give those players the opportunity to play regularly at the international level, then it all helps the sport."

She has played in every National Bank Cup competition since it started in 1998, and said the league had been great for the sport.

"It puts all your top players out there and allows New Zealand to look at all the up-and-coming talent and, at the same time, provides experience and top-level netball for those coming through."

Vagana is obviously a little sad her playing career is nearing the end, but she couldn't have wished for a better send-off from her home crowd, who turned out in force last weekend to watch the North Harbour side upset the Sting.

"Sunday's game could be my last but I hope not. I really want to win that final."


LINDA VAGANA

Born: Auckland, July 23, 1971

Job: Marketing coordinator in the Faculty of Arts, Auckland University of Technology.

Height: 1.85m

Positions: Goal keep, goal defence.

Test caps: 61 for New Zealand.

Playing history: Waitakere 1990-95, North Harbour 1996-2003, Force 1998-2004; New Zealand under-21 1992 (world youth champions), Silver Fern 1993-94, 1996-2002, Samoa 2003.