‘We respect the opposition’: Johannesburg staying grounded in defence of netball crown
· Citizen
Fielding a new-look squad, Johannesburg are eager to hit the court when they open their campaign on Thursday, as they target their fifth successive title at the Spar National Netball Championships in Cape Town.
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“We have a very young team – a lot of our senior players are not available due to injuries – but it’s exciting for us because we are building and grooming new players, and this is the best platform to do that,” Johannesburg head coach Elsje Jordaan said on Wednesday.
“We’re very excited. The senior A division is a beast of a league, and we all know that, but it’s a wonderful opportunity for young players to put up their hands and show what they’re worth.”
‘We’re not arrogant’
Despite dominating the tournament in recent years, Jordaan insisted her squad were not taking anything for granted, and they expected to face a battle in defence of their crown.
Johannesburg were one of eight district teams in the senior A section, which also included national sides from Botswana and Namibia, though the international squads would not be included in the points table and were not eligible for medals.
“We respect the opposition, and we turn up to be the best we can be, but we’re definitely not arrogant about it,” Jordaan said.
“Last year it was not smooth sailing. We had a few losses through the week and we had to dig deep, and that’s testament to our players, with the grit they showed, and they know what it takes.”
Msomi relying on the process
Former Proteas captain Bongi Msomi, the head coach of the Johannesburg U21 team, felt her team were also ready to defend their national age group title, but she said they were not getting ahead of themselves.
“We don’t come into this tournament with a full plan of winning. We’re just constantly working on the process, and if you get the process right you win,” said Msomi, who recently led the SA team as the chef de mission at the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
A total of 110 teams will compete at the week-long national championships at Stellenberg High School, across a range of divisions, in the senior and U21 age groups.