Alice Springs’ Penny Shearer becomes NT’s first High Performance coach
Alice Springs trailblazer Penny Shearer has made history, becoming the Northern Territory’s first High Performance netball coach. Read how she rose up the ranks here.
News
Don't miss out on the headlines from News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A Territorian has once again embodied the Territory Tough mentality on the national stage.
Netball NT chief executive Penny Shearer has entered the ranks as one of the game’s top coaches with the sport’s top coaching accreditation.
Earlier this month Shearer received her title as a High Performance (HP) coach, the premier highest and most difficult accreditation to receive in the game.
Shearer’s journey began as a youngster in the Red Centre.
Not from a netballing family, Shearer quickly turned her relatives into netball fanatics as her mum and siblings also fell in love with the game.
Fast forward a few decades and Shearer got her first taste for coaching in 2005.
“My first coaching gig was for an under-17 division two team at Nightcliff Tigers,” Shearer said.
“It was absolutely social and fun for those girls so it was a really good introduction for myself into the world of coaching.
“I think looking back on what I’d seen my mum do, always volunteering and coaching and umpiring, it was something I took up without much thought.”
A few more years down the line and having coached some representative sides, Shearer knew her calling was netball - not her 9-5 real estate gig.
“Coaching came pretty naturally to me, and it’s something I was and still am obviously very passionate about,” she said.
“After a decade or so and some recommendations by colleagues and peers I started working on getting my coaching accreditations.”
Set up as a six-tiered framework, Netball Australia’s coaching accreditation begins with Foundation (beginner coaches and teachers) and ends with HP (highest level State League, Australian Champs, Suncorp Super Netball and Reserves coaches).
Shearer said it had been, in some ways, a long slog to get to the top, but wouldn’t have it any other way.
“It’s been tough to get to where I am in the NT with limited resources, having to do things remotely and a lack of elite netball systems (Super Netball),” she said
“But I also feel that being in the Territory I’ve been rather fortunate in terms of upward progression.
“In larger states there are hundreds of coaches vying for a position where here the pool is obviously far smaller. So that has given me chances to move upward through the ranks.”
Driven by an insatiable passion for bettering the game and improving the sport throughout the NT, Shearer said she hoped her achievement would light the fire among the future generations.
“I wanted to get the HP to make sure I’m always on top of things myself, and I’m a glutton for punishment,” Shearer joked.
“But, I also want to inspire young girls and boys out there that if you put your mind to something, work your backside off and do your best, you can get to where you want to go and achieve what you want to achieve regardless of your situation.”
More Coverage
Originally published as Alice Springs’ Penny Shearer becomes NT’s first High Performance coach
Bail on the cards for Darwin Show stabbing attack accused
An assessment is underway to determine whether the 15-year-old boy accused of stabbing another teenager at the Royal Darwin Show is suitable to go home.
Watchdog warns against youth crime crackdown, CLP ‘unapologetic’
NT Children's Commissioner warns rushed youth crime reforms could harm children and worsen community safety as government fast tracks plan to reintroduce spit hoods and tougher sentences.