DHS netball coach out to get her team ready and keep them focused

Coach for the U/19 Netball team, Magda Myburg. Picture: Danie van der Lith

THE DIAMANTVELD High School’s Under-19 netball team are prepared and getting more ready by the day. This is the message the DFA received when speaking to the team’s coach, Magda Myburg. Myburg said that their preparation for the Absa Wildeklawer Sports Tournament will continue until the very last day.

“We had former Netball South Africa head coach Elize Kotze come to assist us with some of our game play in the week in the hope of fixing areas she saw we needed work on,” Myburg told the DFA.

“One of our strong points is shooting for goal, and we have worked hard on that, but this year we will be without our main goal scorer, Marie Duraan as she was chosen to represent South Africa in the Under-17 Africa Schools Tournament, where four other countries will compete. So it is a big loss for our team, but we are lucky to have depth in our team, and we will be able to adjust to this,” said Myburg.

The coach pointed out that this year’s competition is shaping up to be a tough challenge, as they are playing against a number of powerful netball schools.

“We have been put up against Affies, Garsfontein, La Rochelle, Paarl Girls High, and Rustenburg Sentral, so we will need to be on point during our games.”

Myburg outlined what her role would be if things became challenging for her team during the tournament. “When things don’t go according to plan, as a coach, I try to motivate them by pointing out their strengths and putting the belief back in them. I always try to remind them about the next game, to stay positive, and to try to improve in the next game,” she said.

The coach said that last year, the first team ended eighth, and the previous year they ended fifth, so they are trying to work on staying in that top 10 position, but they are hoping to finish higher on the leaderboard this year.

“We will be giving it our all this year; we will do the best we possibly can, and hopefully we will not disappoint our supporters and the spectators watching us,” she concluded.