NZ is ‘over-thinking’ how they play, says Willering
Cheree Kinnear
Former national netball coach Yvonne Willering says the Silver Ferns are guilty of “over-thinking” and believes newcomer Michaela Sokolich-Beatson can change that.
Willering, who coached the Ferns from 1997-2001, was unfazed by the shock selection of Sokolich-Beatson.
“She [ Sokolich-Beatson] certainly will provide lots of energy and enthusiasm out on court,” Willering said. “She just goes out there and plays and sometimes the Ferns are over thinking it, they’re too worried about their error rate, so they need people to just go out there and play.
“During the Commonwealth Games we cannot rely on just a main seven or eight . . . We tend to always want the most experienced players but sometimes it’s quite good to have a lesser experienced player put on court because they just go out and play.”
Although Willering backed the selection of Sokolich-Beatson, she said disappointing the Ferns felt the need to make changes.
“It’s a bit of a shame they needed something different and they’ve openly said she [ Sokolich-Beatson] will provide a bit of competition and some enthusiasm, but really when you make the Silver Ferns you should have that within you,” she said.
“No one has the right to one, be a Silver Fern and, secondly, to actually be out on court. That’s something you earn so I’d like to think that the players still have that fire in the belly to do that.
“Certainly we’ve got good players there, we don’t want to lose the belief in them, but they have to show it with their actions.”
The Silver Ferns produced disappointing results in the recent Northern Netball Quad Series, with errorridden performances and a lack of confidence.
Willering said next month’s Taini Jamison Trophy against Jamaica, Malawi and Fiji was as chance for the Ferns “restore faith”.
“The Taini Jamison Trophy will be critical, it’s not the results that are going to be critical, it’s the way we approach each game and the combinations we put out there and how we play the game,” she said.