Spar Proteas coach, Jenny van Dyk, says their mission for the upcoming Commonwealth Games is to finish in the top four of the competition. The South African Sports Confederation and Olympic Committee (Sascoc) announced the squad as part of the South African contingent heading to Scotland for the 23rd edition of the competition, taking place from 23 July to 2 August in Glasgow.
The team only consists of three players who featured in the last Games in Birmingham 2022, Khanyisa Chawane, Nicola Smith and Elmere van der Berg. Veteran defender Karla Pretorius also makes a return to the tournament after missing the last edition as she took a break from international netball to focus on the arrival of her first child.
South Africa’s last appearance at the Games resulted in a disappointing sixth-place finish in Birmingham. Coach van Dyk says the team aims to improve on their finish at the competition.
“We are working towards a semifinal spot, and we do want a medal. If we don’t work in that direction, then there is something wrong with us. This is a goal we have set out for ourselves in our seven-year plan. We hope to reach it now already. This is a squad that is capable of it, and for us, that is the first point, that is the next step we have to take now. That is the goal.
CONFIDENCE IS KEY
The goal is to make sure that we beat one of the two top teams in order to get ourselves into a semifinal spot. We are confident in the team that we have selected; we know where and how to be able to win against a team like England, which we have played recently. We have to use that confidence we have built within the team to push them forward a little bit,” says van Dyk.
England-based wing defender Shadine van der Merwe was not named in the squad. The coach explains that the Loughborough Lightning player was not available for selection.
“Shadine was never available for selection from the start. That wasn’t somebody that we missed, she didn’t make herself available for the Commonwealth Games,” explains van Dyk.
South Africa has been picked in Pool A for the Games, and they are pitted with Australia, England, Malawi, Tonga and Northern Ireland. Van Dyk says that the defence will play an important role in helping the team qualify for the top four.
“Position-wise, being able to bring up something different when we have trouble on court. If you have two shooters who can do the same thing, play the same exact style, why would you make the change? We have players in these positions that can give us something totally different. For us, especially in our defensive unit, we have got some of the strongest defenders in the world, by far. With the focus being on the top four, we are going to be playing against tall shooters, and you won’t always get to turn the ball under the post. So we have looked into plans to set up our game to turn the ball before it goes into the circle,” she explains.
IMPORTANT ROLE
Van Dyk says all the leagues in which South African players compete play an important role in making a selection. The Proteas have players competing in the United Kingdom’s Netball Super League, the Australian Suncorp Super Netball, as well as the local Telkom Netball League. Van Dyk says watching all these leagues plays an important role in selecting squads.
“It’s one of the prerequisites as selectors to watch all the international (league) matches as well, we don’t want to miss out on anybody. We watch all the matches, and we give the players a lot of feedback on those matches. That is important because in South Africa, we watch the TNL, but other people don’t watch the other matches to know how the rest of our players are doing, hence they are getting contracts and playing overseas,” says the former Baby Spar Proteas coach.
The team will gather for a weeklong camp before heading to Scotland for the Games. The team will get to play some preparation matches against Uganda and Wales behind closed doors.
The former Gauteng Jaguars says Sascoc couldn’t have chosen a better Chef de Mission than former Proteas captain, Bongiwe Msomi, for the Games.
“She doesn’t know it yet, but she is going to do a lot within this team. I think there is no better choice in my eyes than having Bongi there. She is such a role model, and she has been phenomenal throughout her career. It is such a privilege to have her as the Chef de Mission. I think she is going to inspire all our players, not just the netball players, but the entire country and all the athletes. People now get to see what we have experienced with her. We are very proud of her. It is such a fantastic accomplishment. Now two of our most experienced players will be there with us, Karla and Bongi. I know they will be there to support us,” she says.
SPAR PROTEAS SQUAD
Khanyisa Chawane, Kamogelo Maseko, Tarle Mathe, Owethu Ngubane, Refiloe Nketsa, Karla Pretorius, Nicola Smith, Rolene Streutker, Elmere van der Berg, Jamie Golob, Karla Victor, Sanmarie Visser