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Netball | Kingdom Stars Head Coach Precious Mthembu Uses Her Experience To Inspire Others

Kingdom Stars vs CRINUMS 1Kingdom Stars Head Coach Precious Mthembu at a post-match interview following her team’s match against Free State Crinums at the 2023 TNL at Heartfelt Arena. Photo Cred: Skhu Nkomphela/Thuli Dhlamini 
 

When one thinks of development in sports, it is often affiliated with moving from junior ranks into senior team. Very seldom is it focused on players hanging up their boots and drawing from the experience by joining the sidelines as a coach.

The Telkom Netball League (TNL) currently in its sixth edition, prides itself in sports growth development, we have seen a group of players announcing their retirement only for them to resurface as coaches. SPAR Proteas legend, Precious Mthembu announced her retirement from international netball with 97 caps played for the KZN Kingdom Stars in 2019 and after the 2020 TNL season, she announced her retirement from playing domestic netball.

Not everyone can be a coach and those who are brave enough to come back and sit in the dugout have a lot of responsibility on their shoulders as they are entrusted with the task of producing results and delivering.

In 2020, Netball South Africa introduced a second team, Kingdom Queens from KZN and Mthembu was announced as their head coach in 2022. She coached them for one season before joining their parent club in 2023.

“Coaching was never part of my netball career many years ago, but the inspiration behind the switch was to give back and continue offering the same opportunities and experience I got whilst I was a player,” says Mthembu.

Speaking about the advancements of netball since becoming a coach, she states “The resources used when I was a player have since advanced. The game has changed drastically, from the way you train as a player, the game is faster more tactical and needs to be clinical. The coaching aspect is different because you need to keep up with the game, do more behind-the-scenes work, and understand both the players and the game in more detail.”

Reflecting on the change in her career, Mthembu added “It was very difficult to only hang my boots on the international stage because I’ve always wanted to reach 100 national caps, but I realized my calling and passion for the sport is in coaching and hopefully one of the players I coach will reach 100 caps for me”.

Mthembu believes that the experience she gained while captaining helped her because she now understands what makes a good player and what is needed to increase player development and make them great. Her goal is to be the best coach, learn from others and use her experience as a player when dealing with her team – her goal for the 2024 TNL is for her to experience what is like to win the championship, something she experienced in her career.

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