Julie Fitzgerald opens up ahead of her 25th season coaching

As Julie Fitzgerald enters a record 25th season of coaching, she opens up on the journey. And Liz Ellis — who generally stays quiet — is more than happy to share her view on her.

Frankly, Julie Fitzgerald is embarrassed at the fuss.

Already, the Giants mentor has coached more than double the number of games in netball’s various national league formats than the next highest-ranked coach.

In 376 matches at the helm for the Swifts, New Zealand’s Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic and the Giants, she has coached at the highest level for 24 years, won five premierships, and on Sunday, will engineer the Giants’ performance against the Lightning on the Sunshine Coast as she enters a record 25th season.

It’s something she hoped would sail under the radar.

“To be honest, I’m trying to hide this one because the players might think I’m old or something,” Fitzgerald said.

But there was never any chance the achievements of the woman dubbed the Wayne Bennett of the netball world would go unnoticed.

Julie Fitzgerald, who is heading into her 25th season of national league coaching. Picture: Tim Hunter

Fitzgerald has far too many fans among her alumni for that to happen.

They include some of the biggest names in the sport - Liz Ellis, Cath Cox, Jo Harten and Jamie-Lee Price.

And while the stories may vary over the years, they all have a similar theme.

How being coached by Fitzgerald leads to more than just netball knowledge and on-court advice. Once in, you’re in, you become part of the Fitzgerald clan.

The fact that Ellis returned the call to talk about Fitzgerald probably tells you everything you need to know about the respect she has for her longtime mentor.

A former Diamonds captain and longtime Swifts leader, Ellis generally rejects interview requests given she now has no formal role in the sport outside of coaching her daughter’s team in the local league.

But she’s more than happy to talk about Fitzgerald and a partnership of almost 15 years.

“She very much she was always a coach and still is a coach who cares about what’s going on in your life and wants you to be happy and fulfilled,” Ellis said.

“I think that’s what translates to consistently good performance on the court and just the loyalty that she gets from people because she really cares about you.”

Cox, now a commentator with Fox Sports, said she found it incredible to think that eight years after her own retirement, Fitzgerald was still coaching after both started at the Swifts together.

Fitzgerald with Giants captain and vice-captain Jo Harten (right) and Jamie-Lee PricePicture: Tim Hunter

“We chat about this a lot now as ex players and commentary, which coaches are the ones that work and what is it that you need to be a successful coach,” Cox said.

“And we feel like in this day and age, you need to be a really good people person above anything else.

“I think the fact that she was a single mum of four kids trying to work two jobs, coach a netball team, she just got that there was life outside of netball and how important that was.”

Fitzgerald again created a “family” of her own within the team at the Magic, including a pair of players who followed her back to Australia to be foundation members of the Giants and will head into their 10th season under the coach when the Sydney club takes on the Lightning on the Sunshine Coast today.

Like Ellis and Cox, Jo Harten and Jamie-Lee Price speak of Fitzgerald’s ability to create a family-like atmosphere — but also her passion for the game and her players and the confidence she instils in them.

“On game day she’s so confident in her own ability that she gives you confidence that you can perform and almost expects it from you even when you’re facing the best team in the world,” Harten said.

“Often her last statement in the change room is: ‘we can do this’. To have a coach that has been there and done that, you have a certain level of faith and obviously a lot of respect for her but I think part of it is also just her passion.”

Price was one young gun Fitzgerald put her faith in as a teen, handing her a debut at the Magic before enticing her back across the ditch in a move that almost certainly ensured she tied her future to the Diamonds rather than the Silver Ferns.

“There’s something about Julie that when she sees talent so young, she just trusts it,” Price said.

“She puts a lot of trust in you and I think that’s really important as a player, to have a good relationship with a coach when they put that trust in you to go out there.”

Heading into a 25th year with a group she believes has a firm chance of contending for the Super Netball title, Fitzgerald has no intention of hanging up the clipboard anytime soon.

“I’m as excited for this weekend as I was for the first weekend.”