Northern Rays: Australian netball royalty to join coaching staff

Australian netball legend Vicki Wilson OAM will share her expertise and vast knowledge with the Northern Rays after taking up a director of coaching role for the 2021 Netball Queensland Sapphire Series.

Australian netball legend Vicki Wilson OAM will share her expertise and vast knowledge with the Northern Rays after taking up a director of coaching role for the 2021 Netball Queensland Sapphire Series.

Wilson has an esteemed career in the sport, having represented Australia for 15 years, which included winning three World Championships in 1991, 1995 and 1999, the last as captain.

She also captained the side to their first Commonwealth Games gold medal in 1998.

Since hanging up her bib the following year, Wilson has been head coach of the Queensland Firebirds, an assistant coach of the New Zealand Silver Ferns and, most recently, head coach of the Fiji Pearls.

She has been inducted into the Netball Australia, Sport Australia and Australian Institute of Sport’s ‘Best of the Best’ halls of fame.

Australian netball legend Vicki Wilson has taking up a director of coaching role with the Northern Rays.

“I am so excited to be appointed as the coaching director for the Northern Rays and hope to contribute in a meaningful way for the team, so the players grow their skill set and court craft,” Wilson said.

“I will be relying on my extensive netball knowledge to assist the two coaches, Angela Cooper and Kelly Hynes, to drive the coaching standards and I hope that my insight in the game will be a point of difference for the club and assist both the players and coaches as we begin our journey in the Sapphire Series.

“We are under no illusion how tough the competition will be and I know that the team will have the right attitude to play week in week out.

“Our pre-season focus will be on the fundamentals and court strategies.”

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Rays chair of the board Lyn Law said she could not be more elated about having Australian netball royalty join the club.

“Vicki has enormous experience in player development within the high performance and elite coaching environments and we are incredibly fortunate to have her heading our programs,” she said.

“Our development programs are aimed at equipping North Queensland players and coaches for the challenges and requirements of what’s required to succeed in professional netball.

“Having a coach of Vicki’s calibre to lead and implement an elite development environment is an incredible opportunity for North Queensland netballers and we can’t wait to see the results on the netball court.

Sapphire Series netball; Northern Rays v Bulls Sharks at Townsville Stadium. Rays' Chloe Frederickson (on left).

“It’s not just the coaches and players who will benefit, the umpires will also have the opportunity to gain insight and receive feedback from an elite coach.”

The Rays compete in the semi-professional Netball Queensland Sapphire Series and represent 18 different netball associations from across North Queensland.

The 2021 Sapphire Series will start on April 11.

Originally published as Northern Rays: Australian netball royalty to join coaching staff