15 July 2010

Head coach Helen Mahon-Stroud and assistant coach Julie Seymour will again head the Mercury Energy Tactix netball side for the 2011 season in a new structure, which will also see the addition of three additional coaching assistants.

Kevin Eder, chairman of the Mercury Energy Tactix, said that a very thorough review of the season had been completed and a clear plan put in place for the future.

“Both Helen and Julie have the confidence of the players and both are extremely keen to continue with the team. They are both very young in their coaching careers, that is why we have strengthened the coaching set up to support them,” he said.

In addition to the two incumbents, the Mercury Energy Tactix is looking to appoint a specialist shooting assistant and a specialist defence assistant.

“These will be coaches of international standard and they will work with the team on a consultative basis, rather than fulltime. We have already identified, and talked with, a couple of potential coaches who we believe will be ideal for the positions.

“We are also looking to appoint a coaching mentor. This person will essentially be a coach to the coaches. They ideally will have an extensive record with success at international level and may not necessarily come from netball.

“We have unveiled this structure to the players and they are very enthused by what we are trying to achieve,” he said.

Mahon-Stroud said that both she and Julie were excited about the investment that was being put into the coaching framework.

“We are both relatively young in our professional development as coaches and realise that we are not experts on every aspect of the game. Our task is to help the players improve their on-court performance and this new structure will definitely assist.

“We are a young side and last season was a big challenge, but we did the hard yards and we will be better off in 2011,” she said.

The management and support team will be named shortly.

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