Stars come home for young players

Joline Henry points the way to the youngsters taking the special training camp in Wanganui. Photo/Bevan Conley

It was like staring into mirrors of the past for Silver Fern's Joline Henry and Jodi Brown as they looked into the eyes of the 60 youngsters going through their paces at Springvale Stadium yesterday morning.

The two expat Wanganui internationals joined forces to run a special training session for the invited players, including a Q&A at the conclusion to discuss with them how to "get on the pathway" to a future career.

Local coaches each took specific drills with rotating groups of the 11-15-year-olds with the two stars, who have over 100 netball tests between them, dropping in over a player's shoulder to offer advice and encouragement.

Netball Wanganui administrators were grateful to the pair for giving up some rare holiday time, given in less then three weeks they will be joining their Silver Fern teammates flying out to the United Kingdom for two exhibition games against Scotland in Glasgow, ahead of matches with Jamaica, England and England A over a nine-day period.

"We were humming and harring about whether we'd get home [for Christmas]," said Henry, who raised the idea of the session with Brown while they were in camp.

"I said 'why don't we put something together for the kids'?"

Both women remembered playing on Wanganui's courts as youngsters and watching their heroes of the day, such as when the likes of Davina Cooper would come in with the visiting provincial team.

They wanted to bring that same sense of inspiration to the next generation of Wanganui players, both of them getting nostalgic as they watched the teenagers running around.

"We just thought it was a really good opportunity to give something back. We're really big family girls," said Brown.

"This is where we started and if we can get two to three Silver Ferns out of this bunch, then hopefully we can inspire them to be like us.

"Most people want to forget about netball two days before Christmas, but these guys are all here."

Henry also had her eye to the future, but that does not mean she has lost any of her own competitive edge.

"This is where we started everything. I guess if they can see you and touch you and watch you do things [they're inspired]," she said.

"I hope we have some Silver Ferns in the future. Not too near future, I don't want anyone stealing my spot."

It will be a quick turnaround after the New Year to head to the United Kingdom, neither of them particularly looking forward to the dreary Northern Hemisphere winter.

However, Brown said with the 2014 Glasgow Commonwealth Games in July being an earlier start in the year, these Scotland games were necessary for "early homework", especially as the new-look team still needs to "establish links" after the 4-1 loss to Australia in the Constellation Cup.

Henry said they will be missing out on their traditional summer pre-season training, but duty calls. "I know it's a little bit awkward timing, leaving our summer [when you're] building your base.

"But any opportunity to wear the black dress. That's the nature of elite level sport these days."

First game of the tour is January 12.