Rona Singer initially thought coaching was just about showing up and running drills.
鈥淚 thought I鈥檇 just rock up, get my ball bag out of the car, grab my bibs and just turn up, teach a few skills and go home,鈥� she says.
鈥淏ut it鈥檚 so much more than that, especially at the age group I鈥檝e been coaching.
鈥淵ou want people of that age to develop a love for the sport that you love, so you want it to be a really good experience for them.鈥�
Based in Wellington, netball has been a huge part of Singer鈥檚 life since she was young, with her mum heavily involved in the sport.
When her kids started playing, she put her hand up to volunteer as a coach, but discovered she had a real passion for it.
鈥淭he love comes from sharing my love of the game with others, but also trying to create good humans on and off the court,鈥� Singer says.
鈥淚 really feel like I鈥檝e got a holistic approach - I love teaching the skills, I love seeing the players develop, but I also want to see them develop as good people as well, and just try and build a really strong, positive culture for the kids to thrive in.鈥�
Singer coaches the junior A team at Scots College, and oversees the junior programme, with Scots Director of Netball - Ngaeama Milner-Olsen. Five years ago, when the school first welcomed girls onto campus, they had one netball team, and now they have 13.
She has also coached at PIC Netball Club, and has been lucky to have worked with a lot of netball legends.
鈥淚鈥檝e been heavily influenced by my netball club, I鈥檝e been coached by and coached alongside some incredible coaching talent,鈥� says Singer.
鈥淲aimarama Taumaunu has been heavily involved in the club forever, there鈥檚 Pelesa Semu, , there鈥檚 Noeline Taurua - there鈥檚 people who are very well-renowned and highly respected coaches that I鈥檝e been privileged to play alongside, coach alongside, be mentored by. I am really lucky.鈥�
Coaching school-aged kids can be a big responsibility, but Singer considers it a privilege.
鈥淢ajority of my coaching has been between year 7 and year 13s, so those kids are going through a lot,鈥� she says.
鈥淭he feelings of being inadequate, building resilience, of being with your mates, falling out with your mates, receiving feedback, not feeling good enough - all those kinds of things, those things that teenagers go through, it comes hand in hand with coaching.鈥�
Singer鈥檚 day job is in humanresources and recruitment, and she finds she can make a lot of connections between her work and her coaching.
鈥淚 can kind of draw on a lot of parallels between the two, around culture, leadership, people development, having courageous conversations,鈥� she says.
As she sits at her desk at work, Singer鈥檚 mind is full of plans for netball training in the evening.
鈥淚t sounds so corny and cliche, but I just love it,鈥� she says.
鈥淚 think there is nothing more satisfying than teaching a skill, or running a drill, and then seeing it executed in a game situation鈥nd also seeing the joy on the faces of the people I鈥檓 coaching.鈥�
After 16 years of coaching, Singer loves the fact that people she鈥檚 coached still stay in touch.
鈥淵ears later, kids that I鈥檝e coached have become adults, when they can come up to you and give you a massive hug and they鈥檙e so happy to see you, you know you鈥檝e left a really positive impression,鈥� she says.
Along with wanting to teach netball skills to her players, Singer also wants them to have grown as people.
鈥淚 want them to have nailed some fundamental skills, the basics - the passing, catching, landing, driving hard, build strength and athleticism, build those good fundamentals so they can enjoy the game,鈥� she says.
鈥淏ut I also want them to have loved being part of a strong team culture, and a strong team environment.
鈥淪o it鈥檚 the skillset side, and the development side, but it鈥檚 also the enjoyment side as well, I want them to have enjoyed the season, and build confidence in themselves and some resilience in there as well.鈥�
Singer鈥檚 advice for other coaches is that there鈥檚 no right or wrong.
鈥淚 have my style, I have my philosophy, I have my beliefs and that鈥檚 who I am as a coach, but there鈥檚 no handbook which says you have to do it like this, or you have to be a certain way to be a coach,鈥� she says.
鈥淚 think if you can be your authentic self and be your true self and show a bit of vulnerability, and show your players who you are and why you鈥檙e there, your connections will be so much stronger.鈥�
She鈥檚 forever learning as a coach, developing herself and listening to others, knowing how much of an impact her words can have.
Singer is considering whether she wants to move into high performance coaching, having coached age group representative teams, and also coached the Wellington open team - two steps down from the Central Pulse, who play in the ANZ Premiership.
鈥淚鈥檝e been attending these performance coaching seminars and webinars, and one of the things that comes through really strongly is when you鈥檙e in a performance environment, you have to make some really hard decisions around players, and you鈥檙e there to win,鈥� Singer explains.
鈥淚 have to decide whether I鈥檓 actually cut from that cloth, whether I can make those really tough decisions.鈥�