NTIS clinic gives tips to coaches

A COACH’S workshop conducted by NTIS netball coach Gillian Lee yesterday gave Territorian mentors an update on how juniors should be trained and educated.

As part of the NT Netball Championships, Lee was joined by the first indigenous player to represent Australia – Marcia Ella-Duncan – as well as West Coast Fever player Josie Janz-Dawson in conducting the seminar.

Lee said it was a great opportunity to let junior coaches know how to build relationships with their players.

“It was speaking a lot about the coach and player relationship. They (Ella-Duncan and Janz-Dawson) are both indigenous and they spoke about what they have experienced as elite players,” she said.

“It is not just whether you are coaching an indigenous kid and knowing their culture, but there are so many cultures in Australia.

“It’s about knowing each individual kid and whether they were brought up in suburb Y or suburb X, they are still going to be different. Everyone had different situations.”

Lee said the game was changing and it was important coaches are kept in the loop.

“Josie was talking about how the games changing as well as how coaches can get quite rigid in the way they are coaching,” she said.

“Often it is we will do this and do that, but some kids need that creativity and they are at their best when they are able to be creative.

“Rather than putting a lid on top of kids, you should allow them to be creative in what they do.”