Fletcher and Dennis poised to helm Pies

TASMANIAN coaches Jon Fletcher and Claire Dennis will team up to coach the Tasmanian Magpies in the 2020 Australian Netball League season.

Fletcher (pictured) has been named head coach, while Dennis returns for her third year as assistant coach.

Fletcher coached the side in 2017 in their inaugural year; and his return brings a wealth of experience as the highly regarded high performance coach’s extensive career includes accolades such as the first male National League coach, working at the AIS and more recently his induction into the Tasmanian Netball Hall of Fame.

After a few years out of the ANL program, Fletcher is certainly eager to hit the court.

“It’s been good to have a couple of years off,” Fletcher said.

“I’m excited about being back and am looking forward to building on the foundations and success of the program over the past two years.”

With the ANL program serving as a feeder/pathway to the Collingwood Magpies Super Netball team, the two programs will work closely together. An added bonus is the already existing great coaching relationship between Fletcher and Rob Wright, with both coaches working together previously in the Hunter Jaegers and Netball NSW National League programs. Fletcher is looking forward to meeting Wright to further map out the programs’ structure.

“The program will continue to underpin the Collingwood Magpies program with a strong emphasis on the development of all athletes.”

Wright is also excited about Fletcher and Dennis’s return.

“Jon has a wealth of coaching experience and is very good at tactical and technical skill development. He is able to invest equally in individual player development as well as overall team performance,” Wright said. “It’s great to have Claire return for a third season.”

The team will be finalised in coming weeks with Tasmanian athletes trialling tomorrow.