Wits coach takes reigns at KZN Kingdom Stars for 2021 TNL
- Tshepiso Mametela
Marguerite Rootman is rearing to hit the ground running when the 2021 Telkom Netball League (TNL) finally gets going from 5 – 12 September 2021 and then again from 9 – 17 October 2021.
Wits’ first team netball coach will take charge of the KZN Kingdom Stars, one of 12 teams represented from the nine provinces, as South Africa’s leading semi-professional netball league continues to showcase the best on-court talent from across the country. The first leg of the tournament will take place in Pretoria at the Heartfelt Arena and the second leg will take place at Sun City in the North West province.
“I think that the TNL remains one of the best platforms to give our elite players a chance to showcase their talent. I am happy to see that with the sponsorship of Telkom, we were able to expand the competition,” explained Rootman, who will be taking charge of a TNL team for the first time in her career.
Wits Netball head coach Marguerite Rootman
“Having a sponsor that supports a semi-professional league is an incentive for players to work even harder to become part of this competition. It is a tough competition and exposes the local players to a level of netball that is closer to international standards,” said the coach on her assessment ahead of the start of the league.
After their lackluster display at last year’s competition, the Stars are dead set on putting on a better showing at this year’s event. The coach said she relishes the prospect of taming the underdogs in a challenge which, hopefully, will see her impart some new but useful tricks into the side.
“I have done an analysis on the team’s performance in 2020 and although it is not an exact science at this stage, I do have ideas of which areas of their game needs improvement. I still need to watch the footage to confirm my assessment but I am pretty confident that I know where to start.
“I like coaching ‘the underdogs’ because they have nothing to lose. I had the same situation when I started at Wits and they were so eager to win that it wasn’t difficult to get them to adapt to a new coaching style. I am hoping that the same will happen with the Stars,” declared an upbeat Rootman.
Sports officer for netball at Wits Sport, Tebogo Rabothata, has placed all bets on Rootman, wasting no time as he tags her to lead the coastal team to a maiden TNL title. “I expect my coach to write her own history with KZN Kingdom by winning the TNL to showcase that what she did in the past with Wits was not by fluke but because she’s a good and talented coach,” said Rabothata.
“Marguerite is one of the best coaches we’ve had in the netball fraternity — very passionate about netball, a hard-worker and has dedicated more time into coaching, and I have no doubt that she will do well with the team. I think this is a great opportunity to showcase her talent at this level.”
Ahead of battle lines being drawn in a bid to land a solid crack at the nod, the sort of preparations the team are exposed to will serve as a potent blueprint ahead of mounting a campaign-winning effort. Rootman, undeterred, said having already acclimatised to the new normal will make the business of competing easier for her and her troops.
“Players and officials are used to the whole wearing of masks and sanitizing situation. As much as it is perceived as a negative, I choose to try and find the positives in the situation. It forces you to think out of the box and come up with innovative ideas in your coaching.
“The Covid rules, in a way, force you to coach in smaller groups and one can spend time on combination work, for instance. I believe a lot in individual coaching as you can work on an individual player’s weaknesses.
“It means shorter sessions but with a very high level of intensity, something that players need in a competition like the TNL. It is harder on the coaches as you have to spend more time on the court than what the players do but it is worthwhile when you put everything together,” said Rootman.
Wits Netball also boasts five student players and two open team players that will also feature in the tournament, namely:
- Tinita van Dyk, Kelly Gouws, Panashe Chiranga and Zanne-Marie Pienaar - selected for the Gauteng Golden Fireballs team.
- Simone van Reenen was selected for the Gauteng Jaguars team.
- Samantha Holder selected for the Limpopo Baobabs and Alicia Oosthuizen who was selected for the KZN Kingdom Stars.