The Goulburn District Netball Association's reputation for producing talented players was furthered recently, when it was announced in April that five local players had been selected for the 2021 South Coast Blaze Talent Identification Program.
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The program draws players between the ages of 14 and 18 for six sessions of advanced coaching from a number of high-profile players and coaches.
Emilee Skelly, Teagan Crooks, Phoebe Matthews, Samantha Marks, and Isabella Pollard were the five locals selected for the program, and were congratulated by GDNA coaching coordinator, Maree Blake-Dyke.
"It's a great opportunity to train with other passionate and talented netball players from across several regions, and provides a pathway to improve skills and intensity," Blake-Dyke said.
"Having five players successful in selection shows the commitment and enthusiasm from out Goulburn netballers."
It is the second year that local players have been named in the Blaze program, after four were selected in 2020.
The Goulburn five are part of the 62-strong group of players selected to participate in the program, which aims to develop their skills through specialist coaching in a high-performance environment.
The program's coaching contingent will be headed up by Campbelltown District Netball Association representative coordinator and Metro League coach, Tracey Connolly. She will be joined by South Coast Blaze Opens Head Coach Marji Parr and U23s Head Coach Regan Tweddle.
Former Sydney Swifts stars Nat Behl (nee Sloane) and Kimberlee Gilmour, and former UK Netball Superleague player, Donna Fearon, will also share their hard-earned knowledge as members of the coaching staff.
Blaze chairperson, Karina Franke, said the organisation was "extremely proud" to be able to develop so many young talents from throughout the state.
"This is the second year of our Talent Identification Program and there was a massive turnout again for trials with the program expanding beyond the South Coast into South Western Sydney this year, following Campbelltown District Netball Association coming on board as a new partner association," she said.
"The number of strong players that trialled shows that netball is thriving in the South Coast and surrounding regions, and we are extremely proud to be able to provide a development pathway for these athletes through the program. We congratulate all the players that were selected in our 2021 TIP squad and hope that they learn as much as they can over the sessions from our exceptional coaching line up."
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