New faces, fresh position
Anything worth having is worth fighting for, and Horsham Demons’ A Grade netballers – likely more than most – are acutely aware of how long such a fight can be.
The Wimmera Netball Association side is known to be a powerhouse on court, and its appearance in finals, and even premiership flag contention, is often an easy prediction.
Just as often in the past three seasons, however, the Demons have struggled to finish the job, regularly missing out on a season triumph by a mere few goals.
And while a new coach and squad revamp in 2020 is sure to add a fresh kick of enthusiasm into the side, coach Tiff Heir said the club was preparing to take the approaching season ‘week by week’.
“To play in a grand final and win – that’s what we play for and that’s what we coach for,” she said.
“But we’re probably just going to take it week by week. We don’t want to get ahead of ourselves. It’s probably a pretty general thing to say, but I think it rings true, especially with so many new faces on board this year.
“We have had four girls depart from last year’s A Grade side.
“Luckily, we’ve retained players such as Emma Buwalda and Georgia Hiscock, who are both Hatcher medallists, and Victoria Taylor is back from an injury this year.
“We also have two junior girls who will be coming up into A Grade this season, under-17 player Molly Lakin, and Grace Manserra, who is technically still eligible for under-15s at the moment. Grace has a lot of talent and we’re really excited to have her playing seniors this year.”
Heir is no stranger to netball in Horsham, having coached and played in the area about 20 years ago.
She has also built up a strong résumé coaching in North Central Football Netball League and has coached Wimmera junior representatives to compete for state netball titles.
She said she was excited to be taking on the A Grade coaching role this year, which would see her focus on strategy-building and helping her charges perfect the fundamentals.
“My focus this year is on the strategic side of the game,” she said.
“But I also like to focus on the basics: passing, court awareness and handling the ball. They’re all really important skills in netball.
“It’s also really important the girls play as a team. Netball isn’t an individual sport – if you’re wanting to play as individual, I think you’re better off playing golf. Because in netball, you can’t win any game without seven girls on court working together.
“You really need to be cohesive. So, I think if I can get that into them early, it will pay dividends for us later in the season.”
The Demons pre-season kicked off mid-january, and their A Grade side trained together for the first time last week after a fortnight of squad selections. They also have a practice match lined up on March 28.
Netball director Emma Hopper said she was pleased with how pre-season was progressing so far, and keen to see the side develop under Heir’s leadership.
“There’s a really good, positive feeling around at the moment and we’re all looking forward to the 2020 season,” she said.
“We need the right person in place to develop the new team going forward, and that’s Tiff.
“She has a lot of experience coaching high-level netball and we have full confidence in her, all the girls are really enthusiastic and eager to learn.
“It will be good for a fresh face to bring something new to the club.”