Silver Fern Stars Aim to Motivate in Singapore

Two of the most storied names in netball, New Zealand’s Irene van Dyk, who recently retired from international netball, and current captain Casey Kopua, will travel to Singapore in November on a week-long visit attending the M1 Corporate Netball Challenge.

The pair will be part of a meet-and-greet session and question-and-answer event open to the public on 14 November.

In the lead-up to the one-day event at the Kallang Netball Centre, van Dyk, 43, and Kopua, 30, will both conduct clinics for national age-group players and in schools as part of the M1 schools programme.

This will be the second time that Netball Singapore is bringing in some of the world’s best players for similar visits. Shooter Maria Tutaia, 28, who also plays for the world No. 2 New Zealand team, was in town late last year as part of the build-up to the Netball Nations Cup.

The association has been able to bring in the players thanks in part to the connections of national coach and New Zealander Ruth Aitken, who coached the Silver Ferns before taking up her position here.

Said Aitken: “It is about us bringing to life some of the legends of the game, allowing our young players especially to get up close and personal with world-class netballers.

“They’ll pass on some really good tips along the way and it’s really more about just engaging someone who has made netball their profession and is giving back as well.”

Original article by May Chen, The Straits Times, October 7, 2015.

Photo by ST File.