New Zealand coaches work with Tobago netballers

New Zealand netball coach Irene Vandyk, left, observes a court demonstration conducted by Tobago coaches at Shaw Park.
New Zealand netball coach Irene Vandyk, left, observes a court demonstration conducted by Tobago coaches at Shaw Park.

NETGO, the New Zealand initiative of taking netball throughout the commonwealth region, reached Tobago last week.

The initiative was a collaboration between the New Zealand High Commission for the Caribbean base in Jamaica and the Trinidad and Tobago Netball Association (TTNA)

Coach of the programme Irene Vandyk, originally from South Africa, did sessions with the Tobago coaches on Wednesday at the Shaw Park hard courts and observed the coaches conducting sessions with their clubs on Thursday at the same venue.

New Zealand coach Irene Vandyk, centre, poses with New Zealand Deputy High Commissioner for the Caribbean Ruth Delany, left, and TT Netball Association board member Martha Archer at Shaw Park, Tobago.

Vandyk, who played 72 Tests for South Africa between 1994 and 1999 and 145 Tests for New Zealand between 2000 and 2014 with whom she won the World Netball championships when it was held in Jamaica in 2003, said she focussed on teaching the coaches various drills and techniques aimed at increasing their knowledge of the sport.

Vandyk, who is also a specialist shooting coach with the Wellington Pulse Netball Club back in New Zealand, also said that from observing the coaches doing sessions with their players, there was a lot potential to build on once the right measures are put in place.

New Zealand Deputy High Commissioner for the Caribbean Ruth Delany said the programme started in the pacific region last year and along with TT, the Caribbean tour this year will also include Barbados and Jamaica.

Delany, who is a big fan of soca star Machel Montano, indicated that New Zealand has already establish sporting connections with the Caribbean in cricket and rugby and that netball is an extension.

Kyla Keith Wilson, a beneficiary of the programme, said she learned a lot from the sessions and was impressed with the new drills and the fact that ninety percent of the training was done on the court.

New Zealand coach Irene Vandyk, right, engages Tobago netball coaches in a theory session last week.

Martha Archer, a board member of the TTNA who represented the association at the programme, when asked about the state of the game nationally, said the world game is dominated by tall players and that getting tall committed players for the national team presently is a challenge along with the competition from other sporting disciplines.

She said corporate funding and flight difficulties between TT re major issues which seriously affect the Tobago players who are identified for national training.

In terms of the world rankings, New Zealand are at number two behind Australia, Jamaica are at number four, TT are 10th and Barbados 12th.

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