Netball: Young guns a shot in the arm for franchises

Portia Woodman has thrived on court. File photo / NZ Herald

It has been the year of the youngsters. As the fourth year of the ANZ Championship draws to a close, young players have shone like never before.

Across the five New Zealand franchises, young players have been given more responsibility - and court time - and the dividends are apparent.

Eight of the 12-strong New Zealand under-21 team named recently are drawn from the ANZ Championship and half of that side will still be eligible for the 2013 World Youth Cup.

Boom Mystics youngster Kayla Cullen was named last week in the inaugural all-star team - recognised as the best player in her position in the league.

"We are seeing what has been a natural progression over the years," says Netball New Zealand high performance director Tracey Fear.

"Coaches are giving their young players more opportunities and they are responding. With up-and-coming players, it is important how you use them - you don't want them to be exposed longer than necessary - and I think the franchises have mostly got that balance right."

The Mystics, with the luxury of arguably the strongest roster in the competition, have got great value from their youngsters.

Cullen was hardly sighted last year but an injury to Joline Henry gave her invaluable experience and allowed the Auckland franchise to develop more depth in an area of the court in which they were thin.

Last Sunday, Cullen was one of the standouts in their spectacular win over the Swifts, starring alongside Anna Scarlett at the defensive end.

"The process has been 70 per cent mental, 30 per cent physical," Cullen told the Herald on Sunday earlier this year.

"[The older players] expect a lot; they expect you to do everything they can do - even though you are just starting. It puts a lot of pressure on you and you need to push yourself that extra 110 per cent."

Fellow prodigies Bailey Mes and Jessica Moulds looked comfortable whenever they got a chance and high level observers were particularly impressed with Portia Woodman, already earmarked as a star of the future.

Further down State Highway One, the Magic have also been well served by their young brigade. Eighteen-year-old Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick has made her mark over the year, while Juliana Naoupu has gone from a bench player at the Steel to being discussed as a Silver Ferns contender.

"I thought their young players were actually holding the team together at the beginning of the season," says former Silver Fern captain Bernice Mene. "Their senior players took a while to get going this campaign."

While the Tactix notched only a single win, the development of Joanna Trip at the highest level was a positive and Ellen Halpenny established herself alongside Donna Wilkins in the shooting circle.

Further south, Te Huinga Reo Selby-Rickit blossomed in 2010 and her defensive partnership with Leana de Bruin was one of the few high points in a disappointing Steel season.

It is more difficult to assess the Pulse, who perhaps have an over-reliance on youth amid a paucity of experience, but 20-year-old Amber Bellringer has proved she can compete at this level after returning from two years in the wilderness.

Explanations for this year's phenomenon vary. Some point to the compressed ANZ Championship season (due to the impending world championships), which has forced coaches to rely on their bench more than in previous years.

Also, there is the emergence of the next generation of coaches such as Debbie Fuller, Jenny-May Coffin, Julie Seymour and Noeline Taurua, who have been quick to swap kit for clipboard and are perhaps more inclined to take a gamble on youth. A third theory has that we are in the midst of a particularly precocious talent cycle.

Mene was herself a prodigy, playing provincial netball as a 16-year-old and representing New Zealand two years later.

"It is pretty exciting in your early years putting yourself up against the best," reflects Mene. "At first, you are an unknown quantity and mentally you are very fresh. The hardest part is being tough enough; having that wily toughness to get by.

"Part of it comes from games under your belt and part comes from within. I think the girls this year have demonstrated that quality."

While the young guns at the Mystics and the Magic may have a pivotal role to play today in Hamilton, the true test for the new breed will be the dreaded second season syndrome.

"Opponents have everything on tape and will soon work out your habits and any chinks in the armour - there is so much analysis of performance these days," says Fear. "It is crucial for these players to keep refining their skills and tactics and continue adding to their bag of tricks. When the honeymoon period is over - that is when the pressure and expectation tends to rise even more."