Kia ora Koutou,

A massive congratulations to all Mainland Centres on delivering another hugely successful netball season across the Zone. Collectively, you have enabled more than 20,000 players, coaches and officials to participate in the game we all love each week.

As the winter season is wrapping up, we want to thank every Centre staff member and volunteer for your incredible commitment to our netball community. As we know, netball never sleeps however we hope you now have an opportunity to reflect, recharge and prepare for the season ahead while enjoying some warmer days.

The NetballSmart Netball New Zealand Open Championships take place in Napier this week. Mainland will be proudly represented by two teams, four umpires and five bench officials. We wish you all the very best! You can follow the action here: 10 – 13 September, Rodney Green Arenas, Napier. Watch every game Live & On Demand with a Streaming pass https://bit.ly/3UFWmQX

If you haven’t secured your tickets to the Constellation Cup match in Christchurch yet, you’d better hurry. Only a few seats remain!

Ngā mihi nui

Mainland Netball

A NetballSmart x Coaching collaboration that you can take straight from the screen to the court! These videos have been created with the realities of community coaching in mind and are designed to make it easier to build strong, confident and competent movers who can handle the demands of the game. Check out the new Skill Set video resources here: https://netballsmart.co.nz/netball-smart/skill-sets.html

One of netball's most effective attacking moves is here.

The Up to Go Back is a fan favourite for a reason. It helps players create space, lose their defender and receive the ball with confidence.

In this Skill Sets video, you'll find practical coaching tips and activities to help players improve their timing, change of direction, decision-making and court positioning.

Watch the video, then explore more free resources at netballsmart.co.nz.

Photo: Cath Ferguson, North Canterbury U18 Head Coach / Photo Credit: North Canterbury Netball Centre

Mainland Targeted Coach Programme

Programme Overview

This year Mainland Netball re-introduced a coach development programme to complement its existing Mainland Umpire and Athlete Programmes.

Targeted at U18 Centre Representative Head Coaches across the Mainland Zone, the programme aimed to connect and build the capability of coaches working with Centre Pathway Athletes. Centres without a U18 Team could nominate a Head Coach from a Senior A Secondary School Team within their Centre. 

The bulk of the program ran from April to July, capturing the NNZ U18 Championships and extending to September for coaches competing at the South Island Secondary Schools Tournament. A variety of different development opportunities were provided to cater for different interests and stages of learning. This included coach observations within training and competitions such as the Kings Birthday Tournament. In addition to the NNZ Online Tipu Series, coaches learnt from leading rangatahi coaches. The New Zealand Secondary School Head Coach Jo Morrison shared the focus, key priorities and insights from the NZ Secondary School Program, while Marianne Delaney-Hoshek spoke on tournament play and different playing styles. Importantly, the knowledge will not only upskill the coaches in their team environment but also upskill the Mainland system as a whole.

Kate Carpenter

Mainland Netball Coach Lead

kate.carpenter@mainlandnetball.co.nz