Coaching

Helene Wilson

Helene was born and grew up in Auckland on the North Shore. She played representative netball for North Harbour.

Helene studied Physical Education at university and she has taught as a secondary PE, Dance, Outdoor Education, Health and Science teacher and been a Director of Sport; teaching in various schools in Auckland and NSW, Australia. After having children, Helene changed professions and began working for High Performance Sport NZ as an Athlete Life Advisor (her current job). She is the lead in Athlete Life for the NZ Blacksticks Women’s Hockey, NZ Women’s Sevens Rugby and the All Blacks Sevens. Helene is also a qualified life coach, career counsellor and studying psychology.

Helene coached her first netball team in 1993 and she hasn’t stopped since. She has coached at primary and secondary schools (Pakuranga, Diocesan, Westlake), club (Commodores netball Club and Shore Rovers Netball Club), age group and NPC representative (North Harbour and North), national (NZSS) and franchise (Mystics). Helene has also coached secondary school, age group representative and a state league team in NSW Australia.

Helene’s proudest coaching moments were coaching Westlake Girls High School to qualify for NZSS tournament for the first time in schools history, coaching Shore Rovers Netball Club to their first Premier Championship in 12 years at Netball North Harbour,  and winning the Trans-Tasman Challenge with NZSS.

Helene’s greatest love of coaching is being a ‘change agent’ and supporting athletes to realise their potential and back themselves to perform at their best. The challenge of growing their skills at a rate faster than the opposition is rewarding for Helene.

“I look forward to bringing my knowledge of high performance in many sporting contexts to the U23 team and hope to grow athletes to succeed at the next level by understanding and learning the attributes needed to excel in a high performance environment”. – Helene Wilson

The Netball Northern Zone U23 squad has been selected. The trials were very successful with over 50 players being viewed throughout the two trials and a number of the players who excelled at the trials were of a variety of ages and this includes talented U19 players, players older than 23 years of age and obviously those players who are currently in the U23 age group category. Careful consideration has been given to every U19 player selected in the squad to ensure they are able to maximise their opportunity to develop into high performance athletes and specific plans have been devised and communicated to their Centres regarding their management.

The squad named below will train and play together through to Monday, June 1 at which time the coaches will decide on those players who will be selected in the squad to go to the National U23 Tournament. Those players who are U19 and don’t make the final squad will move back into their Centre U19 rep programmes as they build towards National U19’s. Each player will get opportunities to be selected in the squad through their performances at training and also through pre-tournament games which are scheduled to take place on:

• Saturday, May 9- Game vs. NZ Secondary Schools
• Sunday, May 17- Tournament in Cambridge vs. WBOP U23’s
• Sunday, May 31- Tournament in Wellington vs. Central U23’s, Mainland U23’s and WBOP U23’s

This is a wonderful opportunity for our talented athletes in the Northern Zone to train alongside one another and the coaches are very excited with the calibre of the players in the squad. We are also currently working with the Northern Mystics Coaches with players from their squad who have been included in the U23 squad so as to ensure all players in the Zone get the opportunity to integrate their training opportunities where possible so the best players in the region can train and compete at U23’s against the best from around the country.

We would like to congratulate the following players for their selection in the Netball Northern Zone Squad.

New Zealand Age Groups 

New Zealand Age Groups (U19 & U23) was held at the Trust Arena on 6—9 July 2015. With more than 250 Netballers on court there was some great netball on display throughout the four days.

Undefeated all week, Northern Under 23’s went on to win the U23 Championship. Ahead by six at halftime; some impressive shooting by Maia Wilson (34/40 at 85%) could barely be faulted. The defensive effort by Sulu Tone-Fitzpatrick and Holly Fowler throughout the week was a standout, with Tone-Fitzpatrick named Defender of the Tournament. 

RESULTS

U23        Northern             62           vs            Central                 36

U23        Northern             47           vs            South                    44

U23        Northern             54           vs            Mainland             34

U23        Northern             50           vs            WBOP                   41

FINAL

U23        Northern             55           vs            South                    50

Congratulations to Fay Meiklejohn who gained her IUA Endorsement on Monday night at the Mystics game.

Read more …

Experience the excitement as we embark on a journey to shape the future of netball with futureFERNS! The Zone is dedicated to supporting all Netball Centres in the implementation of the futureFERNS program across various levels. From the youngest players in Year 1 & 2, progressing through to Year 3 & 4, and advancing to Year 5 & 6, we're committed to nurturing a love for the game.

Our approach involves providing essential support to our Centres through engaging taster sessions, informative workshops, and vibrant festivals. These activities not only captivate participants and parents but also contribute to the development of Junior Coordinators, Star Helpers (Year 1 & 2 Coaches), Year 3 & 4 Coaches, and Year 5 & 6 Coaches.

Join us in the pursuit of creating skilled players who genuinely love the game. With futureFERNS, expect more passing, catching, and attempts at goals. Be a part of the futureFERNS movement, where we are not just shaping skilled players but also fostering a deep love for the game!"

Team 

Netball Mainland is pleased to announce the Under 23 team to play in the National Championships to be held in the Trusts Arena in Auckland from July 6 – 9.  The team contains five of the 2015 Tactix team.

The team is:

Olivia Coughlan

Charlotte Elley

Lucy Gunn

Tori Harding

Elizabeth Hayman

Sarah Hayman

Gemma Hazeldine (Vice Captain)

Nicola Mackle

Zoe Walker (Captain)

Erikana Pederson

Lottie Richardson

Chloe Williamson

Non travelling reserves:

Alice Eddington

Katelyn Inch

Coach Nic Kelly says “ I am excited with the mix of experience, versatility and skills.  They are a good group of girls who have come together well considering the short time frame.   We have been preparing for the high stress environment of the nationals and look forward to getting a good indication of our progress when we meet South U23 in Temuka on Sunday.

Team Management

Nic Kelly - Coach                                  

Rachel Parkin - Assistant Coach

Mandy Anderson -  Manager

Louise Thayer - Physiotherapist

Squad 

Congratulations to the following players on their selection into the 2015 Netball Mainland Under 23 squad. 

The team of 12 players to represent the Netball Mainland Zone at the National Under 23 Championships in Auckland from 6 – 9 July will be finalised in early June.

 Team management: Coach: Nic Kelly, Assistant Coach: Rachel Parkin, Manager: Mandy Anderson, Physio: Rowan Parsons

Tania Heap

I love netball and have been lucky enough to be involved in our sport for many, many, years. In my early 30’s with 3 young children and a very supportive husband (he had to be) I decided to follow my passion and I did a  Bachelor of Science majoring in Physiology and Sport, then a post graduate in Physical Education and Health and I completed and attended numerous netball coaching modules and workshops. 

I then took the plunge and took my first Year 8 Representative team at Waiuku Netball Centre since then I have had the privilege of coaching at a number of levels from little people – (4 years olds-they are so gorgeous) through to intermediate, college, senior, representative and regional teams all offering different challenges but always rewarding experiences.

My work experience has been quite varied from accounting, builders labourer, teaching, personal trainer and in recent years I have been the Netball Development Officer for Netball Counties Manukau and The Netball Northern Zone.  I am now on a new and exciting journey as your Netball Northern Zone Coach Development Officer.

I am very grateful for this wonderful opportunity and I look forward to working with and supporting our wonderful coaching community.

Netball Central Zone is inviting nominations from the Central Zone lead centres for their players to attend the NCZ U23 Trails.

Trails will take place on Sunday 19 April 10am-1pm at B&M Centre, Arena Manawatu.

Nominations will close on Friday 10 April at 5pm. Please click below to download a nomination form.

U23 Trials Nomination Form - Editable