Stacey Marinkovich announced as new Australian Diamonds coach
THE highly anticipated wait is over with West Coast Fever coach Stacey Marinkovich appointed as the new Australian Diamonds coach. Marinkovich is set to be the 15th Diamonds coach and boasts a wealth of experience having coached the Fever for the past five years. She has also plied her trade on the international stage as a Specialist Centre Court coach of the Australian Development Squad and Australian Fast5 head coach.
After guiding her Fever side to a Super Netball Grand Final in 2018, Marinkovich was awarded the Joyce Brown Coach of the Year award. Marinkovich has no shortage of knowledge regarding netball pathways having played at the elite level for many years, apart of the Perth Oriels squad and then the West Coast Fever team prior to becoming the coach.
When speaking to Netball Australia about the appointment, Marinkovich shared her excitement and hopes for the future.
“This is something I have been working towards my entire professional life and I’m absolutely honoured and humbled that Netball Australia have granted me the opportunity to lead the world’s best netball team,” she said.
“I am acutely aware of the expectations, the history and responsibility of taking on such a position and I am very much looking forward to growing the success of the Origin Diamonds program.
“Coaching the Origin Diamonds is not about me as a coach. It is about the team that is representing the nation and Netball Australia, and everything I will do in my time as Head Coach is about the quality of that representation.”
Currently contracted to the Fever, Marinkovich is set to step away from the side at the end of the 2021 Suncorp Super Netball season to solely focus on the Diamonds in preparation for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham and 2023 World Cup in South Africa.
Although there is no certainty around an international season due to the COVID-19 pandemic the appointment at least provides closure for many netball fans and most importantly players. The 2020/21 Diamonds squad will be announced at the end of the Suncorp Super Netball home and away season with plenty of high quality players to choose from.
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[…] victory (80-56) going the way of the Fever and seeing the side slip back into the top four. With Fever head coach Stacey Marinkovich announced as the new Australian Diamonds coach on Saturday, the Fever came out flying to prove their coach was well and truly up to the job and did not skip a […]
[…] have now had an opportunity to step up and prove they are capable of an Australian Diamonds berth. With a new head coach at the helm, the 2020/21 Diamonds squad could have a new look for the upcoming international season. With a […]