Prioritising fitness, ball skills
Pimpinio netballers are focusing on fitness and general ball skills ahead of the 2018 Horsham District league season.
The Tigers started pre-season fitness training in Horsham about a fortnight ago and will head out to Pimpinio in a few weeks.
Netball director Mollie Hamilton said she was pleased with numbers on the track so far.
“The hot weather has made it a bit of a struggle but we’ve had lots of apologies, which is good,” she said. “We’ve got pretty much everyone returning.
“Numbers-wise we’re in a good position, if not better than this time last year.”
Hamilton said the club should fill all grades and had appointed all coaches bar C Reserve.
“I’m sure we’ll be able to fill that position closer to the start of the season, so I’m not worried,” she said.
“Everyone is still in the early stages of working out who is playing which grade and someone will always put up their hand to give it a go.”
Hamilton said Pimpinio would have a strong focus on junior development in 2018 as it looked to strengthen the future of the club.
“Junior development is really important
to us,” she said. “Last year we struggled to get enough girls on the court in the 17 and unders. They also struggled on the ladder.
“We have some strong under-13s and 15s coming through who we want to nurture and help improve so they stick around the club and play senior netball for us.
“Nurturing our juniors is a big focus for all the coaches, as is having a competitive 17 and under team.”
Returning A Grade coach Marnie Lehmann said she was excited to take the reins again.
“I definitely learnt a lot last year in my first year of senior coaching and I will take those lessons into this season,” she said.
Lehmann, a talented defender, missed much of last year due to injury and hopes to return as a playing coach.
“I’m working really hard to try to get my shoulder back in playing order,” she said.
“I only played six games last year – it was a pretty horrible year and I’m hoping this year will be better.”
Lehmann said Pimpinio, which finished ninth last year, would likely field a new-look A Grade side come the season opener on April 7.
“We are still in the early stages and at the moment we have no idea how the sides are going to look,” she said.
“We have a couple of compulsory training sessions coming up and we’ll get a bit more of an idea then.”
Lehmann said goalie Kelsey Hamilton was among players likely to line up in A Grade, along with fellow shooter Jenelle Baker, although it would depend on her other commitments.
“We also have a few new faces but I’m not 100 percent sure what grade they will play at this stage,” she said.
“At the moment we are focusing on fitness and ball work. We want everyone to get a feel for the game again and we’ll start working on match play when we get out to Pimpinio.
“Once we’ve worked out teams we’ll start working on all areas of the court, from shooting to strengthening our defence to building a solid midcourt.”
Pimpinio will meet last year’s grand finalist Harrow-balmoral in round one.