Netball New Zealand’s Emerging Talent selectors will be out in force at next year’s National Development Camp as they continue to profile the country’s next generation of netballers.
Fifty athletes from all five netball zones – including eight from local schools – have been invited to attend a development camp in Auckland from January 16-19, where they will gain guidance from five former Silver Ferns.
The group of athletes will be split into five teams to be coached by Pathway to Podium coaches Irene van Dyk, Jo Morrison, Temepara Bailey, Sandra Edge and Anna Galvan.
The head coaches will be joined by five apprentice coaches in the Performance Coach Qualification pathway while umpires and umpire coaches have also been invited to attend the four-day camp.
Netball New Zealand head of high performance Keir Hansen said the National Development Camp would give the athletes an insight into the Netball New Zealand pathway.
“For many, this is their first step into that elite environment and an opportunity for us to inspire our developing players building towards their future,” he said.
Athletes will undergo a series of movement competency screenings to assess their readiness for performance.
The group will be observed on their performance under pressure with a highly competitive short tournament structure to be employed during the camp.
“This is a ‘best on best’ environment where our Emerging Talent Selectors will be able to continue profiling our future pathway athletes,” Hansen said.
Selection into the camp was based on identification, observation and tracking from the selectors through various national and regional age-group tournaments, along with feedback from Zone Performance staff.
The National Development Camp invitation list of 50 includes eight local reps from the Northern Zone:
They are Dajian Brown, Soana Manuofetoa, Breeze Peeni Rata and Amelia Walmsley from Howick College as well as Olivia Ropati, Jasleen Singh, Carys Stythe and Cecile Velghe from Saint Kentigern College.
