KEY POINTS:
The Irish have a saying that a new broom sweeps clean, but the old broom knows the corners.
No one would dare compare Irene van Dyk to an old broom, but she knows intimately every corner and arc of the semicircle that is her domain. She knows the
tricks that every shooter worth their salt can pull off to get into the best position to shoot for goal.
She knows, as the most-capped international netballer in the history of the game, that experience counts for everything.
And when her critics call for a new broom - a new, fresh attitude in the Silver Ferns shooting circle - van Dyk says "bring it on".
She's picked up the gauntlet to change the way she plays, even though she's just turned 35 and has played 147 tests. She's in no way ready to step aside. And she's made the changes with the help of a broom.
For the past four weeks, leading up to the series against Jamaica and Australia that is a foretaste of the world championships in November, van Dyk has focused intently on altering her style.
Every night in training, her husband, Christie, prods at her with a broom handle to get her shooting better - making her move further outside her comfort zone under the net, to put up shots from every corner of the circle.
It's a method they've employed before, when van Dyk first came to New Zealand and needed to break the old hoop-hugging habits she developed in South Africa. Now she's realised her habits need breaking again.
Van Dyk copped the lion's share of the flak when the Silver Ferns lost first to England, then Australia, in May this year. Old teammates said she had become one-dimensional in her play, her movements were too easily read by the opposition; the feeding to her was just too predictable.
At first, van Dyk was hurt by the criticism. Her daughter, Bianca, was taunted by kids at school that her mum should give up.
"I do think the media sometimes take things too far," she says. "But sometimes they do hit on a spot and you think, 'Oh my God, it's so true'."
Van Dyk studied the videos, delving further back into the tests of recent years.
"For the past four years, I didn't shoot from anywhere other than under the goalpost," she says.
"I didn't need to. The feeding was so brilliant I didn't have to move. I had got so used to it, that I never shot from outside anymore. Not that I'm complaining - but other people had caught on to it.
"It made me realise maybe I should add something more to my own game again."
The answer, van Dyk found, was in building her confidence - to shoot from anywhere in the circle, like she knew she's capable of doing.
She returned from England and concentrated on her longer shots, testing them for the Magic in the National Bank Cup. Her shooting was as dead-eye accurate as before, and it was obvious she was moving better around the circle, hunting the ball rather than simply holding her ground, waiting to be fed like a hungry giraffe.
Her movements were short and sharp, using her full repertoire of dodges, rolls, half-rolls and "the pop".
Then she had Christie, the assistant coach of the Wellington Firebirds cricket side, marking her with his broom as she put up the "outside" shots. The results are there, she says in her typical optimistic way.
"I'm growing in confidence again. It was just a matter of getting it in my subconscious again, that I can do it," she says.
"Now it doesn't matter where I am, I will turn and shoot. I'm willing to put the shot up from anywhere.
"You know, I've always thought I could do better. Now here I am, refreshed and revitalised."
Silver Ferns coach Ruth Aitken, who has been a big defender of van Dyk in recent months, says the world's most accurate shooter has made the most of that criticism and turned it into something good.
"I look at Irene and think of a Nancy Reagan quote: 'A woman is like a tea bag - you can't tell how strong she is until you put her in hot water'," Aitken says.
"She is strong, and she's inspirational really. She has never rested on her laurels and she's done everything we've asked of her. She's a very special person."
Van Dyk admits she is constantly comparing herself to the flight of teenage shooters forcing their way into the Silver Ferns squad - Maria Tutaia, Paula Griffin and Jade Topia - and questioning whether she still has what it takes to keep her place.
"I check out all their tricks, and I think, 'what do I have that makes me different from them? What makes me so special.' Nothing really. And I'm twice their age! But I keep trying," she says.
Auckland in November will be her fourth world championship, and if you thought it would be her swansong, you don't know Irene van Dyk.
"Age-wise this should be my last one, realistically speaking. But I don't want to say that," she says. "I still love the game, and I have all the support in the world to keep playing. When it's over, it's over forever for me. And I don't think I'm ready for that yet."
She doesn't smile as much as she once did on court, as her competitive edge gets sharper with age. She was bursting to get on court last night and stab and parry elbows and knees with Jamaican nemesis Kasey Evering.
"The Jamaicans are tough - they jump seven metres higher than anyone else, and they have muscles where we don't even have places," she says.
"I need to fight for my space - to stand strong and make short, definite movements.
"It's interesting who's going to hit the deck first. I seriously think I can stand stronger than her. Not that I'm competitive at all," she laughs long and loud.
"You'll hear me yelling, 'You are playing in MY circle! This is MY place'!"
Who would argue with that?
Irene van Dyk
* The world's most-capped international netballer
* Caps: 72 for South Africa, 75 for New Zealand
* Born: June 21, 1972
* 1.9m
* New Zealand debut 2000 v South Africa
* South Africa debut 1994
