Diamonds coach sees Taurua’s impact
Australia Diamonds coach LIsa Alexander is struggling to see what the big deal is with the Silver Ferns players picking their captain.
It was announced yesterday that Laura Langman had been voted by her team-mates as the new New Zealand skipper.
This was something unusual for New Zealand sport, but Alexander says it’s a regular occurrence in her team, but the Silver Ferns doing it is a sign of the impact new coach Noeline Taurua is having.
‘‘I’m really surprised that people are saying it’s unusual, because we’ve been doing that in a more radical way in the last six years,’’ Alexander said.
‘‘We’ve had five player votes and ours are done in front of everybody and it’s the players who do it, 3-2-1.
‘‘I’m perplexed why people think it’s a radical thing, I think Noeline’s making sure she gets the opinion of the athletes and I think it’s a smart move.’’
Getting the players to vote in front of each other, as the Australians do, takes it to another level and comes with the risk of a senior player getting her nose put out of joint if she doesn’t get many votes
‘‘We think that’s part of the feedback for that athlete,’’ Alexander said. ‘‘They’ll understand that there’s a disconnect between themselves and the group.
‘‘We’ve had examples of that in the past and it’s important.
‘‘We had our vote the other day, we haven’t announced it yet, but Caitlin Bassett has been reappointed as our captain.
‘‘But not everyone voted for her and there are athletes that she’ll know she needs to reconnect with or talk with and say ‘what is it about what I’m doing that you’re not happy with?’
‘‘So they can have those genuine conversations which are important for us to move forward as a high performance team.’’
Alexander is expecting the Silver Ferns to be a competitive team again under Taurua’s leadership and feels the New Zealand coach would have gained a lot from the two years she’s been with the Sunshine Coast Lightning.
‘‘She’s obviously learnt a lot about high performance and the way we go about things in Australia,’’ Alexander said.
‘‘But it’s not like she can transplant what she’s done at the Sunshine Coast, she put together a team that’s from lots of different backgrounds and countries.
‘‘But now she’s got her own country to coach, for her it will be a special time and I think she feels she can really enhance what the players are going to bring.’’
Bassett has spent the past two seasons under Taurua’s leadership at the Lightning, where they won back-to-back titles.
‘‘I’m really excited for Noeline and she’s the best person for that job,’’ Bassett said.
‘‘She will do amazing things with that team, she gives confidence to players and I’ve experienced that the last couple of years playing underneath her.’’
Given that Bassett knows how good Taurua can be for the Silver Ferns, it could have been the case that she hoped someone not so good got the job, so Australia can keep their domination over New Zealand, but Bassett said that’s not how she’s thinking.
‘‘Not at all, I want what’s best for her,’’ she said. ‘‘Noeline’s an amazing coach in that she’s such a good peoples person and she understands personalities.
‘‘She’s given me a lot of help and guidance this year and I know the Ferns are going to flourish under her.
‘‘I want to play against the best team in the world, so getting out there and playing against an outfit that is happy, is only going to make us better as Australia.’’