When the South African under-19 Netball team competes at the African Union Sports Council Region 5 Games in Luanda from Friday, it will be a matter of unfinished business for their coach, Jenny van Dyk.
Two years ago, in Zimbabwe, the South Africans lost to the home team in the final. This has been haunting Van Dyk ever since because, being a coach, she strives for perfection. She considers finishing second as being the first loser, which is totally unacceptable.
Van Dyk’s quest for perfection has helped Tuks Netball to become one of the leading clubs in South Africa. They were crowned champions at the South African Universities tournament (USSA) for the past three consecutive years. She has also helped the Tuks under-21 team to win four titles.
Van Dyk is realistic about the challenges her team will face in Luanda.
“Playing in Africa is never easy, mainly because the African teams tend to follow a totally different playing strategy. Games against teams like Australia, England and New Zealand are usually played at a fast pace.
“The African teams tend to play a very unpredictable game which is not easy to read. They play at a much slower pace, basically wearing their opponents down, and sometimes matches against them can be quite physical. Their habit of using short passes, which cannot be easily intercepted, also makes it difficult to play against them.”
As a coach Van Dyk strives to get her players to consistently play to the best of their abilities.
“It serves no purposes to have one or two brilliant moves during a game if the rest of the match is a lacklustre affair. I want my players to dominate every quarter.”
Van Dyk predicts that the teams of Malawi, Zimbabwe and Botswana will be ‘tough nuts to crack’ during the tournament. “I am not one to make any wild predictions. As a team we will take it one game at a time.”
Van Dyk used to be an avid player herself. She represented South Africa at school level and also played for the South African under-21 team. She was part of the Protea squad but never got an opportunity to play. Her playing career was cut short because of serious back and knee injuries while she was in matric.
“I really wanted to continue playing. My mind was willing but my body was not able to keep up. Because I am so passionate about netball I decided to stay involved in the game by becoming a coach and I love every minute of it.
“It is not always easy to be a coach. When things go wrong on the court, all you can do is sit there, watching helplessly. That is when I feel for my players because I know how much they sacrifice during training.”
The South African under-19 squad is: Bianca Blom, Danelle Lochner, Jasmine Ziegelmeier, Jessica du Plessis, Nicole Amiras, Nonsikelelo Mazibuko, Nozipho Ntshangase, Simone Rabie, Sinethemba Mkhize, Chantelle Sweet, Bongise Wete and Frances Hurling.
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