West Coast's Marinkovich gets nod as new Australian Diamonds coach
Current West Coast Fever coach Stacey Marinkovich has been appointed to the top job with the Australian Diamonds.
Marinkovich takes over from Lisa Alexander, who finished her nine-year tenure at the top of the No.1 team in the sport earlier in the year. Alexander has left a legacy of success amid a rising tide of competition from key nations New Zealand and England.
Stacey Marinkovich will finish the Super Netball campaign with West Coast before taking the Diamonds' top job.Credit:West Coast Fever
Marinkovich has been coaching for more than a decade and has already had a taste of the international game with her work as a specialist centre court coach of the Australian Development Squad and Australian Fast5 head coach.
She was the coach of the year in 2018 and has a distinguished playing career as well, having stepped out for the Perth Orioles and West Coast Fever until her retirement from the court in 2009.
"This is something I have been working towards my entire professional life and I'm absolutely honoured and humbled that Netball Australia have granted me the opportunity to lead the world's best netball team," Marinkovich said.
"I am acutely aware of the expectations, the history and responsibility of taking on such a position and I am very much looking forward to growing the success of the Origin Diamonds program.
"My coaching philosophy has always been to evolve my athletes by embedding a collaborative purpose and generating principles and standards that enable players, support staff, stakeholders and the wider netball community to thrive and advance towards sustained success."
The appointment allows Marinkovich to continue as Fever coach until the end of the Super Netball season. Once that concludes, she will dive in to prepare for major tournaments - COVID-19 pending - like the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022 and the 2023 World Cup in South Africa.
Netball Australia chief executive Marne Fechner said it was a difficult decision given the long list of quality applicants.
"Australia is spoilt for choice when it comes to high quality coaches and the quality of the applicants, as you would expect, was outstanding. The head coach role is critical within the context of our national high-performance system and we are excited to have Stacey stepping into the role, she is an outstanding coach and leader," Fechner said.
"Stacey understands the complexity of the performance challenges ahead and the expectation we all have for this team. The incoming coach will be charged with unlocking the extraordinary ability of this team and we're confident that Stacey’s people-first approach, technical capability and drive for success will do just that."
Like many sports, the calendar for netball is a work in progress and the Diamonds don't have a fixed date for their next appearance. Talks continue about a four-match Constellation Cup series with New Zealand.