Netball South Africa President, Cecilia Molokwane, says Jenny van Dyk’s success as a coach is what persuaded them to appoint her as the new coach of the Proteas Netball team.
Van Dyk, who is regarded as one of the best local coaches and most successful coaches with five titles for the Tshwane-based outfit, the Jaguars, was earlier today named as the new coach of the national netball team.
Former Proteas captain, Zanele Mdodana, was named assistant coach. The duo will lead the team towards the 2027 Netball World Cup, which will be hosted in Australia. Netball South Africa had long made it known that they would appoint a South African as the new coach of the Proteas Netball team. The federation wanted someone who would be hands-on and full-time so that they not only focus on the senior national team when there are tournaments but also work with other coaches in skill identification, amongst others.
Van Dyk got the appointment after a rigorous selection process, which the federation says had to be so they could get the right candidate for the job. Molokwane says Van Dyk’s track record as a coach is what made them select her for the job. “ 68 medals, 17 silver, and 11 bronze, and her performances have shown, when we made her not coach TNL in 2019, we all knew where our plans were and sent her to the under-25 team, not knowing that today we would be announcing her as a new coach. “
Apart from winning five consecutive titles with the Jaguars, Van Dyk has also led the University of Pretoria netball team to a few finals and titles in the Varsity Cup. Before her appointment, she was with the under-21 team, which is scheduled to play in the Netball World Youth Cup 2025 Qualifiers in March. She says that as part of her job it will be significant to improve the ranking of the team and make it more competitive.
“We also want to improve on rankings, it is easier said than done, and we need to be meticulous. The objective is to make sure that our team remains competitive throughout the entire game..”
Van Dyk says Mdodana is a good coach who doesn’t like losing and they will work together to take the team to greater heights.
“She’s got so much fire and passion, and you could hear it in the interview that she gave. She used to be our captain, she’s played a lot. If we want to dream big, we have to surround ourselves with (these kinds of) people, and I believe that she’s the best I could have asked for.”
The coach needs to select a group of 30 players and finalize the team as soon as possible.
