Irene van Dyk visits Waikanae School

We had the pleasure of hosting a visit from Irene van Dyk - an iconic netballer and (in my opinion" the best Goal Shooter EVER!!!  The children that attended all received loads of skills and drills which was fabulous.  Irene shared some snippets of her netball career and how she started playing netball.  She even told us that she wasn't always so tall.  When she turned 16, she grew 20cm in 2 years!!!!

Thank you to everyone that turned up.  I hope everyone got a lot out of Irene's visit.

ALSO

A massive thank you to Marilyn Wright who has doubled her offer for our school.  She is prepared to donate $1000 to Waikanae School for every referral that ends in a listing for Tall Poppy.  That means 5 referrals and we get our uniforms!!!  Wahoooo!!!!!  Without Marlilyn, Irene would never have come.

Marilyn can be contacted on 021 710878

If anyone else has any photos, please email them to me and I will upload them onto our blog.

Pretty stoked to have met one of my idols. 

Our senior players

Our junior players

Irene telling us about her netball career.  She started playing when she was 9 years old.  Her hardest game of netball was playing Trinidad and Tobago in 1995 when she faced Jennifer - a very 'hard' 'tough' 'mean' Goal Keeper.

Giving some shooting practice tips.  You don't need anyone else, just yourself.
Make it fun and make sure you are shooting from everywhere.  

Junior players listening really hard to instructions.

Middle School players - Love Irene's facial expressions!

Before everyone arrived we had a massive downpour!

The Haier Pulse have agreed terms with the world’s most capped international player, Irene van Dyk, as they continue to build their squad for the 2014 ANZ Championship.

 With Robyn Broughton confirmed as head coach for a third year at the helm, the acquisition of van Dyk, a 2012 grand final winner with the Waikato Bay of Plenty Magic, is another key step towards the franchise’s goal of a top-four finish and ultimately a championship.

The Silver Ferns shooter, who won gold medals at the 2006 and 2010 Commonwealth Games and also at the 2003 World Championship, was the most accurate shooter in this year’s trans-Tasman competition, scoring 425 goals from 445 attempts for a 95.5% success rate.

Van Dyk, who lives in Wellington, has commuted to Hamilton to train and play for the past 11 years, since moving from the Capital Shakers at the end of the 2002 season. The former New Zealand Sportswoman of the Year is looking forward to spending more time at home with her family as she links up with her local team.

“I have thoroughly enjoyed my time playing for the Magic, which has been very special, but I’m really looking forward to a fresh challenge with the Haier Pulse as I look to build my future closer to home,” said van Dyk.

Ian Collier, Chairman of Netball Central Zone and the Haier Pulse, was thrilled to welcome one of the world’s highest profile players to the franchise, whilst paying tribute to the departing Caitlin Thwaites. “The Central Zone board is delighted that we have been able to accommodate Irene van Dyk's desire to be closer to her family at this stage of her career. The entire Central Zone netball community will benefit and we look forward to welcoming her back to her home town.

“With the return of Irene, we also recognise that we owe a huge thanks to Caitlin Thwaites who has been very understanding of the impact that this news has had on her own position with the Haier Pulse team.

“Caitlin has been an integral member of the team as they have continued to improve under the guidance of Robyn Broughton. We are incredibly thankful for the contribution that Caitlin has made in this respect. We wish her the very best with the Australian Diamonds and have no doubt that she will continue to excel as an ANZ Championship player.”