Silver Ferns coaching debacle won’t inspire young netballers - Nicky Rennie

The coaching dispute between Dame Noeline Taurua and Netball NZ hangs over the Silver Ferns. Photo / Photosport

• Dame Noeline Taurua was stood down last month as Silver Ferns coach after an independent review into the team’s high-performance environment.
• Sports Minister Mark Mitchell has spoken with Sport NZ and has laid out his expectations to end this impasse.
• Roughly 350,000 women and girls play netball in New Zealand each year.

Getting ready for netball on a Saturday morning is one of my favourite childhood memories.

If the weather was slightly inclement, there were always quiet prayers while the cancellations were broadcast on the radio, hoping that the game wouldn’t be cancelled.

Getting changed into our netball uniform in front of the three-bar heater while Fraggle Rock played in the background, and then off to the Manawatū College netball courts.

I played for Foxton Primary and was a bit crap really, but I enjoyed it.

I like to think that it toughened me up for life.

A bit of frostbite and full-body tackles from the Shannon players certainly helped that process.

As with most things I do in life, the main aim was to be my friendly self and have good chat.

I usually played goal shoot or goal attack, so I’d have great conversations with the girls in the goal circle.

It would be fair to say that I lacked the killer instinct required.

I knew the apple hadn’t fallen too far from the tree when I went to watch one of my daughter’s netball games when she was about 9 - she was playing goal shoot and was swinging around the goal post.

I stormed down and gave her a quick lesson on concentration.

It would be accurate to say that my body let me down on the sporting front.

Both my knees dislocated my entire sporting life.

A major operation in my thirties rectified it, but I did tend to end up in an inglorious heap on the netball court, tennis court (and latterly the dance floor) when my knee caps objected to a particular angle.

It would also be accurate to admit that I was just average, so it was no great loss to the sporting world.

I did, however, keep playing sport because it’s good to be part of something bigger than yourself.

Roughly 350,000 women and girls play netball in New Zealand each year.

Having played sport, been a sibling of exceptional football-playing brothers and a sister who was one of our country’s best athletes, I believe those who are going to stand out from the crowd with athletic prowess and skill can be identified from a young age.

There is, however, so much more that can influence the journey to greatness.

It has to be fostered. It has to be fun and there has to be a clear path that is fair, achievable and clear.

Parents can have a big hand in this; so can the associations that put the systems in place.

And then we have the coaches.

All the ingredients need to be in the mix for the end result to rise to the occasion.

A lot of boys aspire to be All Blacks in this country and a lot of young girls - who want to be the best - a Silver Fern.

My question is simple.

Why on earth would anyone want to play netball in this country at the highest level when they watch the coaching crisis playing out at the moment?

Apparently, politics and sports don’t mix which is quite frankly absurd.

Any parent with a child who is part of a team can tell you that it is most certainly political.

It can also be cruel, unfair, infuriating and can spill over the sidelines.

The culture of a team is as important as ability. The players, the parents, the associations and the coaches.

The debacle with Netball New Zealand is so bad that the Minister for Sport has even said it is taking too long to sort.

The sadness here is for all the excited little girls getting changed into their uniforms on a Saturday morning and dreaming about the path to the top.

It looks messy.

Whanganui-based Nicky Rennie returned to her home town in 2018 while celebrating three decades in broadcasting. She has written a column for the Whanganui Chronicle since 2021.