Ipswich netballers benefit from mind awareness session

“Sometimes when you’ve got a really good team, you’ve got to look outside the box and see what other elements may be brought in.’’ See what an astute head coach is doing.

USQ Ipswich Jets head coach Tracey Jeanes-Fraser with her team preparing for this weekend’s Sapphire Series semi-final.

WHEN it comes to all-important finals, mind games can provide a winning advantage.

But it’s how you use that approach that can make all the difference.

That’s why astute USQ Jets head coach Tracey Jeanes-Fraser has called on some valuable outside assistance to help her Ipswich team prepare for this weekend’s Sapphire Series netball semi-final.

After two late season losses, the Jets players benefited from knowledge provided by a team backer.

USQ Associate Professor of Sport and Exercise Science Stephen Bird shared his expertise at a recent session.

His input from working in the school of health and wellbeing offered exactly what Jeanes-Fraser wanted at this stage of the season.

The third-placed Jets head into this weekend’s semi-final against USC Thunder buoyed by a 63-35 win over the Tigers.

“The big thing is we came off two losses against very strong teams,’’ Jeanes-Fraser said.

“We went down to QUT by one and that was one we were very disappointed about.

“We just have to get that mindset right.’’

Reviewing what happened, the coach “put some really good things in place’’.

“I utilised one of our sponsors USQ. I got Stephen Bird to work on that mindfulness,’’ Jeanes-Fraser said.

“When we are under those pressure point situations, how do we move through them instead of freezing up.

“We’re working on that as we enter in the finals.’’

The latest win over Tigers was satisfying, especially following last week’s session with Bird.

“Everyone was absolutely chuffed yesterday,’’ the coach said.

“It just seemed to create a bit of freedom.

“The other day, the girls looked very free out on the court. They really stuck to the game plan and the structure that we asked of them.’’

Preparing for the third v fourth elimination encounter, Jeanes-Fraser has invited Bird to conduct two more sessions this week to keep her players in the right mindset.

“It’s something I firmly believe in,’’ she said.

“Sometimes when you’ve got a really good team, you’ve got to look outside the box and see what other elements may be brought in.

“They know how to play netball but there’s those crucial pressure point moments where we do tend to lose our heads a little bit.’’

She was pleased with Bird’s assistance “just to have a different voice I suppose’’.

The Jets will also have a game against the men at Springfield on Thursday night training as part of their preparations to keep the 2021 season alive.

The day and time for this weekend’s Sapphire Series semi-finals were yet to be confirmed.

The Jets finished the regular season with 10 wins and four losses. Opponents USC Thunder had six wins and seven losses.

Unbeaten competition leaders Cougars will play second-placed QUT (11-3 record) in the other game where the winner will advance directly to the final.

The Jets Rubies are also focusing on this weekend’s semi-final against Panthers.

The Jets Rubies finished in fourth with eight wins and six losses.

They were beaten 57-52 by the Tigers in their latest clash before the semi-finals at Nissan Arena.