The year of reckoning – Goagoses
• NN sets resolutions for 2023
Extracting raw talent from the regions is one of the targets Netball Namibia president Rebecca Goagoses has set for this year.
Limba MupetamiWindhoek
Veteran netball player and current Netball Namibia (NN) president Rebecca Goagoses’ reign looks to not only introduce netball to the regions, but to ensure that there are successfully running leagues.
The former Black Africa player was appointed as the association’s president last year after serving in various positions, one of them being vice-president.
Goagoses spoke openly with the Namibian Sun Sports Desk about their priorities and shared some of the resolutions NN has set for the year.
“We have a board, appointed by the regions, and will be meeting monthly to have an update in terms of the positives and challenges on the ground. That means that we have a really clear picture that informs our communications and planning.”
She said she wants to see the effective running of leagues in all 14 regions, with a target of at the least 75% to be achieved.
“These leagues are really important in terms of athlete development. They’ve made an enormous impact on the game and on the athletes, who are getting top-quality competition more often. You can see how that plays out at international level, so getting the balance right is important,” Goagoses explained. She added that she wants to see governance structures and processes in place in the regions and competitive participation of the junior and senior national teams.
Priorities in order
The former player said her priorities this year will include offering support to the regions and securing funding for projects to materialise.
Some of the competitions the association is looking at, according to her, in terms of participation is the 2024 Africa Cup, one or two international participations and to ensure that junior netball teams accompany the seniors to competitions in order to expose players to international competitions.
Goagoses added that there are so many competition opportunities available, however, “funding and resources are always a challenge and it directs us to prioritise and choose which tournaments to participate in”.
“If we had the luxury, we would have until the next World Cup qualifiers to extensively expose our junior and senior national teams. But we are optimistic that with better planning, it can be possible,” she said.
In terms of developing netball in the regions and - more specifically - at school level, she explained that schools fall under the Namibia School Sports Union, “however, together we will have to work to bridge the gap between school netball players and the senior players”.
Knowledge and skills
Further, she said NN hopes to equip all national team coaches with knowledge and skills by exposing them to more training opportunities so they all can apply the same techniques and tactics to players in their different age groups.
“We also want to form a pool of development coaches from the 12 premier league teams so that they can shadow and pick up valuable skills from the national team coaches such as the under-19, under-21 and senior teams.
“Also, quite important to mention is that Debmarine has for the last two years been sponsoring the Bridge The Gap [BTG] initiative which is yielding results, and MTC is doing great in sponsoring the national premier league,” she said. Goagoses added that she believes the nationwide first division league can assist BTG and support and provide players to the senior set-up.
The league is envisaged to commence in March.
Veteran netball player and current Netball Namibia (NN) president Rebecca Goagoses’ reign looks to not only introduce netball to the regions, but to ensure that there are successfully running leagues.
The former Black Africa player was appointed as the association’s president last year after serving in various positions, one of them being vice-president.
Goagoses spoke openly with the Namibian Sun Sports Desk about their priorities and shared some of the resolutions NN has set for the year.
“We have a board, appointed by the regions, and will be meeting monthly to have an update in terms of the positives and challenges on the ground. That means that we have a really clear picture that informs our communications and planning.”
She said she wants to see the effective running of leagues in all 14 regions, with a target of at the least 75% to be achieved.
“These leagues are really important in terms of athlete development. They’ve made an enormous impact on the game and on the athletes, who are getting top-quality competition more often. You can see how that plays out at international level, so getting the balance right is important,” Goagoses explained. She added that she wants to see governance structures and processes in place in the regions and competitive participation of the junior and senior national teams.
Priorities in order
The former player said her priorities this year will include offering support to the regions and securing funding for projects to materialise.
Some of the competitions the association is looking at, according to her, in terms of participation is the 2024 Africa Cup, one or two international participations and to ensure that junior netball teams accompany the seniors to competitions in order to expose players to international competitions.
Goagoses added that there are so many competition opportunities available, however, “funding and resources are always a challenge and it directs us to prioritise and choose which tournaments to participate in”.
“If we had the luxury, we would have until the next World Cup qualifiers to extensively expose our junior and senior national teams. But we are optimistic that with better planning, it can be possible,” she said.
In terms of developing netball in the regions and - more specifically - at school level, she explained that schools fall under the Namibia School Sports Union, “however, together we will have to work to bridge the gap between school netball players and the senior players”.
Knowledge and skills
Further, she said NN hopes to equip all national team coaches with knowledge and skills by exposing them to more training opportunities so they all can apply the same techniques and tactics to players in their different age groups.
“We also want to form a pool of development coaches from the 12 premier league teams so that they can shadow and pick up valuable skills from the national team coaches such as the under-19, under-21 and senior teams.
“Also, quite important to mention is that Debmarine has for the last two years been sponsoring the Bridge The Gap [BTG] initiative which is yielding results, and MTC is doing great in sponsoring the national premier league,” she said. Goagoses added that she believes the nationwide first division league can assist BTG and support and provide players to the senior set-up.
The league is envisaged to commence in March.
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