#TuksNetball players are in for a tough challenge from next month
The TuksNetball head coach, Jenny van Dyk, got the teams she coached to win 27 of the 28 netball games they played this season which indeed is an impressive statistic by anyone’s standards.
But then again she is not just any coach. In spite of being instrumental in guiding the Jaguars to a second consecutive Brutal Fruit victory-title, Tuks to winning the USSA Tournament and Tshwane to win the SPAR Netball Championships Van Dyk firmly believes that the best is yet to come.
She has her sights set on helping Tuks to retain the Varsity Title. To do so will be a tough challenge. Tuks won’t be able to field a full strength team for their first two games against Kovsies and Pukke as they have become a victim of their own success. The Tuks players are going to play two tournaments back to back; one in New Zealand and one in South Africa.
Because the Jaguars, basically the Tuks team, was victorious in the Brutal Fruit Series they again qualified to contest the SuperClub Tournament in Nelson, New Zealand (19-24 August). The top three New Zealand teams from the ANZ Premiership will be in action as some of the top club teams from around the world.
It is essential to Van Dyk that her players get to play international exposure as she sees it as them being forced to step up to the next level. Pushing them out of their comfort level. This does not mean that winning the Varsity Tournament is not equally as important.
This double challenge meant that Van Dyk had to split the Tuks player’s squad to form two teams. The “A-side” will play in New Zealand while the “B-side” will initially be in action during the Varsity Tournament. Some would consider it to be a big gamble, but Van Dyk is never one to leave anything to chance.
“I am a fanatical planner. I always tell my players that any tournament is just an event you compete at. It is not where you should do your planning as to how you are hoping to win. I believe you win tournaments the year before during the off-season making sure that no player ever misses a practice and where you do your strategising. If you managed to do so, a tournament is just the proverbial cherry on top where you collect the trophy.”
It might sound arrogant, but Van Dyk and her coaching team’s track record speak for itself. During the Brutal Fruit Tournament, a total of 26 Tuks players played for the various teams. An equal impressive statistic is that during the SPAR Championships Tshwane’s A-, B-, under-21A and under-21-B-sides all won gold. The core of the players came from Tuks.
Having depth in every position has always been important to Van Dyk.
Juzelri Garbers comment after Tuks’s success during the USSA Tournament is perhaps the best testimony that Van Dyk’s vision as a coach is working.
“All of us substitutes included, were involved from the start in the team strategy. This enabled our coach to make on-court changes during any game, and it would have no impact on the team’s performance. We kept playing with the same intensity.”
Virtual Campus
Get Social With Us
Download the UP Mobile App