While there was disappointment all round with the sixth place at the Netball World Championships last week, there were those in South African netball circles who were breathing a quiet sigh of relief.
Among them was national coach Burta de Kock, who, knowing full-well her side did not have the ideal build-up to the global competition, was simply pleased they hadn’t fallen further than just one place down the world rankings.
”It’s disappointing from a coaching point of view to finish sixth, but thank God we finished sixth because it could have been much, much worse considering what we’ve been through in South African netball — losing players, starting with a new group, losing players and starting with a new group again,” said De Kock after her team’s loss to Malawi in the fifth-place play-off match.
”I am very proud of my players; they did their utmost. Nobody came here to lose and they really fought hard,” she said.
Former president of Netball South Africa Ntambi Ravele shared similar sentiments.
”To be honest, if you asked me about this team and how I felt about their participation when they played against Uganda before the World Championships, I didn’t expect them to participate the way they did.
”Against Uganda it was like, ‘Oh my God, I can’t believe this is the team we are taking to the World Cup’, but I’m telling you, since they arrived here, I have been impressed. They have improved a lot,” said Ravele.
”If we had tried to keep a team between the last World Cup and now I think we could have done a lot better, because most of these players are new. I think they performed quite well, but from now if we try keep this group of players it will make a big difference.”
That seems to be the consensus — that if South African netball is to go anywhere in the next four years and start bridging the ever-widening gap between itself and the top four nations in the world, there will have to be a four-year plan in place.
”I can’t talk for Netball South Africa, but it’s very important that they look forward for the next four years, do proper planning and try to keep some of these young players, because they gained a lot of experience here,” said De Kock. ”We need to build and prepare for four years — that’s what Malawi did.
”The promising players are here. We just need to come up with a plan to expose them to strong international competition so they can make good decisions under pressure.”
Another vital element that will have to go into the next four years’ planning will be a strategy for how to keep players involved in the game. With work commitments becoming a priority after a certain age, South Africa lacks experience on the court. Many of the older players have dropped out of netball to focus on their careers.
”Right now we are making opportunities for girls to get jobs in South Africa that allow them to stay in the game and we try to compensate them when they have to take unpaid leave from work,” said Netball South Africa’s convener of selectors, Cecelia Molokwane.
”We cannot lose our best players because of a money issue, so we have to provide for them.”
Molokwane gave credit to the government and the national team sponsor, Spar, for helping. But, while steps are being taken in the right direction, the playing fields will be levelled with New Zealand and newly crowned world champions Australia only once the sport has become at least semi-professional in South Africa.
That’s where the private sector needs to step in. But what company will be interested in a South African team that manages to finish behind Malawi on the world stage?
Let’s hope, for the sake of the largest women’s sport in the country, they can see beyond the immediate results to the potential of the youngsters in the side, who, given the right preparation and the opportunity to be nurtured through the correct structures, could give the Aussies a run for their money in the not-too-distant future.