Zones
Our Kia Magic team fell short of reaching the ANZ Championship Grand Final losing the semi-final against the New South Wales Swifts in a tough match. All things considered Kia Magic enjoyed a successful season despite some challenges along the way. The team was hit hard by injury early on and for a number of games there were only nine or less fit players available for selection.
The youthfulness of the team was questioned by some and the reality was that six of the squad were 21 years and under, making it the youngest team in the ANZ Championship. The fact that up to four of these players were regular starters means that the building blocks for the future have well and truly been laid.
It is thrilling that seven of our players will trial for the Silver Ferns at the end of this month.
The greatest achievement for Kia Magic in 2015 was not only the results they achieved but the culture they developed off the court and in pressure cooker situations on the court it was evident that this characteristic shone through.
I recently watched the movie Unbroken which is the story of the incredible life of Olympian and war hero Louis Zamperini, who along with two other crewmen, survived in a raft for 47 days after a plane crash in WWII - only to be caught by the Japanese and sent to a prisoner of war camp. It was a compelling and inspiring watch with many attributes of the human spirit clearly evident - resilience and courage being the most notable.
Like the lives portrayed in Unbroken, at the highest level of sporting competition resilience and courage have to be displayed, both physically and mentally, and this was something that Magic supporters saw week in week out from their young team. These traits were evident in the last seven days or so of the competition when in beating the Steel in overtime in an elimination match they backed up two days later to beat the Mystics and become the inaugural New Zealand Conference champions.
As the season concludes for Kia Magic we would like to thank our many supporters who have backed us. We go from strength to strength and look forward to returning in 2016 in what shapes to be another season not to be missed.
Best wishes
Tim Hamilton
Chief Executive Officer
Zone Newsletters
Click here for January/February 2014
Robin Manihera
Hi everyone. I began coaching in the Manawatu before moving back to Auckland. My involvement in netball in Auckland started at the primary school level helping to run what was called the Future Ferns programme at Windmill Road, and along with some friends started running the Skills Camps for Years 4-6, 7-8 at Auckland Netball Centre, Windmill Road. The most memorable event of this period was rushing up to Windmill Road Courts during lunchtimes, standing on rubbish bins and putting the junior hoops up, and one of the fathers walking up and down ringing a school bell to indicate 1/4 time etc. We have come a long way since then!!!
I have coached at Y5 and 6, 7/8 - U15 - U21s, club (College Rifles), NPC, and was assistant coach to the New Zealand Secondary Schools Team and the New Zealand Talden ID Team 2004 - 2006. I have also been involved in selecting all age groups including the New Zealand Seondary Schools Team and the New Zealand Talent ID team. I have also been lucky enough to coach overseas - Singapore Sports School, Singapore U17 and Singapore U21 Teams and was involved in selecting National teams there.
This year I will be coaching a club team and look forward to continuin to work and support coaches in the Northern Zone.
Overview of Robin’s role
Netball New Zealand's CoachForce, funded by the New Zealand Community Trust, and Sport New Zealand provides support & development for netball coaches at every level and in every zone of New Zealand.
Robin works in the Northern Zone, but also move around the country presenting & facilitating Coach Development Framework Modules & other workshops in conjunction with the five Netball New Zealand zones.
Netball New Zealand CoachForce is responsible for:
- Writing, compiling & updating material for Netball New Zealand's free online coaching tools,
Taking off into Netball Coaching & Coaching Toolkit. - organising & presenting Workshops for Coaches around New Zealand
- training Starting Out in Coaching course facilitators
- running selection seminars
- assisting with regional coach appointments and debriefs
- national coach development initiatives
- templates for coach job descriptions
- team leadership for regional CoachForce
- delivering coach development framework modules
- supporting regional development plans
- regional planning support
- general coach support
Junior Netball Resource
NNZ is not alone there are other sports who have modified their game to be ago appropriate for children. Check out these YouTube clips to view overseas examples of Football and Tennis.
Sussex County Football Association
Watch adults try to play football on a field that is bigger than the standard football pitch. The field and goals posts are scaled to be equivalent to what children experience on a full sized field.
USA Kids Quickstart Tennis
See the success in performance and the participation numbers in children playing tennis once the court size was reduced and the equipment modified to be ago appropriate for the children
NNZ's new Junior Netball Programme has introduced skill development before a modified game which is played on smaller sized courts with fewer players on court for Year 1 -4 teams. The pre-existing Future Ferns modified rules and equipment have been slightly changed to make the game day event more appropriate to the age of the children playing.
Remember children are not mini sized adults
The Real Reason Why Our Kids Quit Sport
Click her for “The real reason why our kids quit sport” by Kathleen Noonan
Parents this is all about you, your ego and how your attitude towards kids sport can cause kids to quit. Peter Gahan, head of player and coach development with Australia Baseball, after years at Queensland Academy of Sport, says “ FUN needs to be at the heart of sport. Even at the elite levels research now shows all athletes need a fun activity in their training session. Countries must walk the fine line of wanting elite sports while encouraging mass participation”. Gahan applauds New Zealand who has introduced a fundamental movement skills program in primary school with a sport officer in those schools to oversee the program. “it covers 14 basic skills including running, hopping, throwing – the basics that are specific from Year 1. From what I hear, New Zealand is going to start kicking our arse at the next Olympics because, with this program, they will have a greater pool of athletes to choose from coming through”. This “basic skills” approach is exactly what NNZ’s Junior Netball Programme is all about.
Reviewed by Anne Nicholson Junior Netball Development Officer Netball Northern.
“Just Let The Kids Play”
Junior Netball Resource
“Just Let The Kids Play” Bob Bigelow – Reviewed By Anne Nicholson, Junior Netball Development
At the recent Netball New Zealand Community Development Conference we were privileged to listen to and talk to Bob Bigelow on SKYPE.
This book was recommended to us to read and once I opened the first page I couldn’t put it down. It makes you look at junior sport 
through the eyes of the child. What is important to them and what will keep them participating in sport while developing their skills. I believe the new Junior Netball Programme is child focussed, will increase participation in netball and develop the skills of all players while having fun with their friends. Fun is the most important ingredient of all for the children
Below are some comments from the book that may help you relook at your approach to Junior Netball and encourage you to read the book in full. It may also be a good resource for parents in your community who are so “win at all cost’ focussed. They may realise that this approach can be so detrimental to the enjoyment and development of their children in sport.
Page 15. “Your children play sports to have fun and to fulfil their needs to socialize, work with teammates, try out new skills and grow. Your children are there to be true to their own sense of self, not yours”.
Page 43. “Spontaneous play. Creativity. A love of the game. Freedom to take risks. These are the ingredients of great games and great players. These qualities do not require a system of select teams. As you’ve read, these qualities are often stifled by an elite system in which a coach, putting himself or herself under pressure to win, begins choreographing instead of coaching.”
Page 81. “Sometimes too much training, too much coaching and specialisation at young ages develops bad playing habits that are harder to fix at older ages.”
Page 120. “They (American College of Sports Medicine and the International Federation of Sports Medicine and the World Health Organisation) recommend more education for parents and coaches about injury risks and child development issues, as well as national standards for coaches’ training and certification…..The guidelines also caution adults not to place too much emphasis on winning…..The recommendations suggest that rules for adult games be modified for children, as should the length of playing times, and the size of playing fields and equipment.”
Page 169. “Adult bench kids to win games. That’s the adult want. The children’s need is to have a chance to develop as players. You can’t do that sitting on a bench.”
Page 201. “Make sure all your players, of every shape and height, participate in all positions and in all skills. Don’t typecast your players according to the positions you think they are best suited for now. That ten-year-old who is below average in size and height may be the tallest, strongest one on your high school varsity squad. Give her a chance at centre (basketball) too. She may grow twelve inches before her senior year. Don’t judge her now”.
Page 214 “Winning isn’t worth cheating”.
Happy reading.
Anne Nicholson – Junior Netball Development Officer – Netball Northern Zone
“Are our children specializing in a specific sport(s) too early?”
Junior Netball Resource
“Are our children specializing in a specific sport(s) too early?” Mary Ann Dove – Performance Coach and Co-founder of Positive Sport Parent
Reviewed by Anne Nicholson Junior Netball Development Officer
This article supports the philosophy of NNZ’s Junior Netball Programme which is a progressive player centred game approach to netball. Young players must learn the fundamental movement skills to enable them to develop as athletes before they become specialised in a sport or in one specific position of a sport. Parents need to realised that their child can be severely disadvantaged or compromised in their long-term sporting life if they have specialized too early i.e. prior to the onset of their adolescent growth spurt.
“Our biggest mistake: Talent selection instead of talent identification”
Junior Netball Resource
“Our biggest mistake: Talent selection instead of talent identification” John Sullivan 13th December 2013 Get Sport IQ
Reviewed by Anne Nicholson Junior Netball Development Officer Netball Northern
In order to maintain our position on the world stage of netball (or from within our own Zone at the High Performance level) this article states we need to take a long-term approach to player selection and development. Junior teams should stop cutting players and focus on developing all players at the youngest of ages so we have a larger pool of adequately skilled individuals to choose from for our high performance teams in the future. That the win at all costs nature of pre-pubescent sports should be put to rest, as this encourages coaches to select current talent that will enable them to win now. It does not identify and develop children who have the characteristics needed for long term high performance who are most likely to become elite after puberty. And that we need to better educate our coaches about identifying talent with a the long-term development approach rather than to win immediately. The NNZ Junior Programme has a progressive player centred approach to Netball, it aims to develop and encourage all players with equal opportunities in a game which does not focus on winning.
Soccer: Schoolgirls now in a league of their own
Click here for "Soccer: Schoolgirls now in a league of their own"
This sounds so familiar; "This competition is designed as a better introduction to the sport where it's nine-on-nine played on a quarter pitch. Players get more touches on the ball, they learn to pass and tackle against those of a similar size, it's easier to form a team and they don't get too discouraged." Auckland Football have modified their adult game for younger players and their playing numbers are increasing, which is just what NNZ is seeing with the introduction of their new NNZ Junior Netball Programme.
Otara, Mangere, & Otahuhu Schools Tournament
I am Maxime Barbier, a French student (from CELSA-Sorbonne in Paris) working for Primary Sport.
The 6th of August, Otara, Mangere and Otahuhu Schools played Netball at the Mangere Otahuhu Netball Centre in the Tournament delivered by Counties Manukau Sport Primary Sport Programme, in partnership with Netball Northern Zone.
As you can see on the video, the foul weather could not dampen the spirits of over 450 girls from Mangere and Otahuhu Primary Schools at the recently held MOSA Netball Tournament. The event had been postponed twice previously in Term Two due to the meteorological conditions.
The games where fiercely contested with many games ending up with close scoring margins.
The Netball Waikato Bay of Plenty zone congratulates Danielle Maulder on her appointment to the ANZ Championship Squad for 2014. What a stellar year Danielle has had in 2013 and this announcement acknowledges her hard work. Congratulations Danielle, a great achievement.
Papua New Guinea is the latest country in the Pacific Netball Partnership programme to have Netball New Zealand trainers visit and assist in setting up programmes for umpires.