She's just returned from the Nationals as head coach of the Christchurch Under 19 Representative team, we asked Lee McKenzie about the experience.

CNC: Firstly Lee, please remind us how long you have been coaching at this level for:

I have been the current coach of the U19 team for the last 3 years. I have previously starting coaching at this level in 2006 for about 4 years. It's a great age group to coach, players are transitioning from school netball and joining the ranks of open age netball at club or Beko level. They are eager to learn along with a wonderful sense of fun and enjoyment of the game.

CNC: Please tell us a little about the lead up to Nationals?

LM: The pre nationals lead up consists of three tournaments. Queen's Birthday, Wellington and a double header against Dunedin. All up our campaign is around 8 weeks long with two trainings a week. 

CNC: Did the team set any expectations for the Tournament?

LM: Goal setting, how we want to be viewed by others as a team and the style of play we put out on court is always one of our first priorities as it gives us direction and we get to find out about each other as well.

CNC: Pool placing was on the line in the game against Dunedin, tell us about the game and the draw!

LM: Dunedin was a game we knew could go either way in pool play. Having met them in our double header in Timaru we were very aware of how good defensively they were. They played a zone style defence and any turnover ball was converted by accurate shooters.

In Timaru we lost our first game by 8 and the second by 6 so we came away feeling that come nationals we could be competitive against them with 2 weeks of training left.

The most noticeable changes that occurred for us at nationals was the ability to score off our turnover ball. The Dunedin zone was effectively dealt with by our players and the accuracy of our passing had improved when under pressure. For us on defence having our captain Lily Marshal back from injury for nationals lifted the tempo in our defensive effort which then flowed through the court to our attack end. Confidence, built from our previous two wins, really showed in this game.

It was a really absorbing game as it went goal for goal with neither team really giving an inch. At the end of the game everyone was on a high due to the quality of the skills showed by both teams.

CNC: What other game(s) stood out for you as a coach?

LM: The other game that really stood out for me was the last one against North Harbour. It can sometimes be easy to just play this final game without any real drive if you are not vying for the top places. Not the case with this group! The team had a definite idea of what they wanted to achieve and were determined to do their best in making it happen. I cannot speak highly enough of their attitude, dedication and sense of unity throughout our campaign.

CNC: Please describe the team in three words:

LM: Courageous, Adaptable, Fun

CNC: Any final thoughts on this year’s experience?

LM: My final thoughts for this group is the amount of potential they still have to develop and how much they learnt over this campaign. We need them to continue to develop through strength and conditioning programmes along with increasing their skill level and tactical netball knowledge. With seven players of the group used over the 2017 campaign still eligible for U19's next year, it will certainly make selections interesting, as we start with a clean slate for 2018 and it all begins again.

Lee pictured (right) with the Under 19 management team.