Fitness to bolster new-look Tigers

Pimpinio commenced preseason training last night with an emphasis on player fitness it hopes will carry it up the ladder.

New coach Renee Clarkson said the Tigers were re-structuring their training regime to improve player fitness and efficiently use their training time.

“We’re going to try to do things a little bit differently this season in terms of training and the way we’re structuring things,” she said.

“Lisa Ward, who is a qualified personal trainer, is going to take our fitness sessions on Tuesday nights. She’s the C Grade coach and she has a wealth of experience in all areas.

“She has played netball for a long time and has coached for many years and is a life member at Pimpinio, which is fantastic.

“People aren’t going to get fit through one session, we understand that, but because we’ve only got the one main court out at Pimpinio we want to make sure we’re able to utilise our time on that court efficiently in terms of drills and game play on a Thursday.

“A big focus will be on our players to do their fitness work in their own time and then any other incidental fitness will come from match play and our drills.”

Clarkson said Kristenn Wilkinson would also help run pre-season training sessions.

“The Wilkinson name is synonymous with netball in this area,” she said.

“She’s going to run things a bit differently and is going to be a different face at our club.

“We all get to be mentored by her and then I’ll take over at the start of the season.”

Clarkson said the A Grade side would have a different look this season, with last season’s coach Marnie Lehmann and Deni Sordello departing for the Southern Mallee Giants. The team will also lose Grace Wooster, Mikayla Rethus and Shae-lea Fischer.

Clarkson said the team had recruited former Stawell Warrior Maggie Clough and would welcome back former player Erin Habel.

She said the Tigers were still working to lure other recruits.

She said Pimpinio was hoping to improve on a four-win campaign in 2018, with this season’s competition shaping up as one of the most even in years.

“We’re hoping the ladder will be a lot more even across the board,” she said.

“It was great to see clubs like Stawell Swifts get up into the finals last year and we’re hoping everyone is competitive and the competition is pretty even.”

“It was great to see clubs like Stawell Swifts get up into the finals last year and we’re hoping everyone is competitive and the competition is pretty even” – Renee Clarkson